Modern Technology and Anesthetics Make Root Canal Pain Free, No Worse Than A Filling
Dental root canal treatment illustrated step by step.
Technically speaking, root canal is the removal of dead, dying or infected tooth pulp, followed by the disinfection of the tooth interior and replacement of the pulp with fillers and sealants. It’s a dental procedure that can save a tooth that would otherwise be lost, but it’s also the procedure by which people gauge their dislike for anything. You’ve heard it: “I’d rather have root canal than…” Fill in the blank.
That perception comes from decades past, before modern technologies and anesthetics made the procedure painless in many cases, but almost always no more painful than getting a filling.
Certainly you want to avoid ever needing root canal, and that’s always our preference at Downtown Dental Associates of Portland. But we want to reassure you that, if you need to have a root canal procedure, it doesn’t have to be difficult or painful.
In fact, we like to point out to patients that root canal is the solution, not the problem. It’s the dental procedure that will stop the pain you may be having that is associated with problem tooth pulp. Sometimes, it’s the only thing we can do to save a tooth that’s damaged, and for many reasons, we always prefer to save a tooth when that’s possible.
The need for a tooth canal arises from a variety of situations, but they all have one thing in common: a tooth that has somehow been damaged, leaving the pulp in the interior exposed, possibly inflamed and infected or open to infection. It could be that the tooth was cracked during an injury, has a deep cavity or has simply had too much dental work performed on it.
Our team at Downtown Dental Associates of Portland is highly skilled and experienced in providing dental care that exceeds your expectations. That’s true for everything from the most preliminary exam to the most extensive dental treatment, including root canals. Our team will assess and diagnose the affected tooth by understanding your dental history, taking an x-ray and completing a dental exam.
Contact us today if you have any questions about root canals or any other topic concerning dental health.