What is a Root Canal?

You may have been told that you need a root canal. You’ve probably also read online that you’re going to be in awful pain when you get one. You may think that’s the reason you get them. Well, that isn’t the case. A root canal is actually a big thing for the mouth because it removes the bacteria, along with the dead tissue, from inside, allowing for the mouth to get healthy and to get rid of super harmful bacteria. There are various ways to do root canals, and in the past yes, they’ve been painful, but nowadays, they’re actually not that bad, and only require a couple of trips to the dentist in order to do it.

So, when do you need one? Well, you essentially need them when you’ve got an infection deep in the tooth. This is when the inner pulp of the mouth itself becomes infected with bacteria. This either happens because you have an untreated cavity, or because of trauma from an injury. If you don’t treat it, it can become so rough you have to remove it. but, if your dentist does recognize it, they may be able to save your mouth. How does it work though? Read below to find out.

In essence, the first thing you get is local anesthetic. This is usually done with a needle, and you may feel a bit of a pinch. From there, it’ll be numbed out, and your dentist might put a dental dam on there to help isolate the tooth and keep it nice and clean and dry. It also prevents more bacteria from coming in.

From there, you will probably see a drill. It will be used to create a small opening near the top part of the tooth. You may notice that it sounds really jarring, but it isn’t that bad. From there, the dentist will use files to clean out the damaged and diseased pulp from the inside of the tooth, and they might irrigate the chamber with some water to get rid of the rest of the pulp. You may also be given an antimicrobial solution into there as well to kill off the rest of the bacteria if there is further risk for infection there.

From there, once it’s fully dried and cleaned, you’ll then fill the area via the endodontist. It does use a rubbery material called gutta percha to do this. That’s how it closes the opening, and you’ll basically be given a temporary filling. With this, you’ll need to probably make sure that you don’t eat anything too rough on that tooth since it might actually pull this out.

However, after a few weeks, you will get the treatment completed by having a permanent crown on the tooth itself. Depending on the condition of the tooth naturally, there may need to be a post put into the chamber in order to make this more stable. But then again, it’s up to the dentist if they want to end up doing that. In order to get teeth straightening, dentist may suggest you braces, veneers or Invisible aligners.

Now, after all of that, you need to take care of your gums and teeth. You definitely want to keep this up, and you will want to schedule further visits with the rapid city dentist in order to x-ray the tooth itself to make sure that the infection is treated, along with the cleanings and exams. Oral care at home is definitely super important, and you will want to make sure that you brush at least twice a day with a toothpaste that will fight germs for about 12 or so hours at least. You want to make sure that you keep this up, because if you take care of it for a while, you’ll be able to have healthy teeth for the rest of your life. Take care of your oral health now, so that you don’t have to do another root canal in the future, and you’ll be able to do this with the proper care. You’ll be able to definitely take care of your mouth at this point with all of this, and you definitely will be able to keep this nice and maintained for as long as you can.