Dr. Rick Winter and Hampton Dental Associates’ number one goal is to keep your smile healthy and beautiful for your lifetime. However, we understand that many factors may contribute to a patient needing extensive tooth restoration or repair. Sometimes these instances are due to a lack of at home dental care, dental trauma, or other illness or health conditions.
If you have ever woken up in extreme mouth pain, or have developed an infection in your tooth below the gum line it is very likely that your treatment may require a root canal. There are many old ideas still circulating about root canals – the number one myth being that root canals are extremely painful, horrible procedures.
While we would prefer to not need to perform root canals on any of our patients, should one be required, you can rest assured that the entire procedure is relatively painless and can even be comfortable. In fact, many patients who require root canal treatment are in such pain when they arrive to our office that any treatment to alleviate that pain is welcome.
A root canal procedure is effective in repairing and saving a tooth from extraction when it becomes infected due to decay, repeated dental treatments, cracks or chips, or trauma. A root canal involves removing the infected nerve and tooth pulp and sealing off the tooth to prevent any further damage.
It is important for patients to have this procedure done as soon as the dentist recommends it because if left untreated, the tissue surrounding the tooth may for an abscess and it may no longer be possible to save the tooth. Dr. Winter will use local anesthesia to numb your mouth prior to the root canal. Other sedation options may also be available for patients who are especially fearful of the procedure. You should expect to be a little sore for 2-3 days following treatment, however Dr. Winter can provide medications to help with this.
If you are experiencing tooth pain or are in need of a dental check-up contact our office for an appointment today.
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