Root canal - Sherway Gardens Dental Centre

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The Truth About Root Canals in Our Etobicoke Dental Office

Have you ever told someone you are going to have a root canal and the reaction was “Oh boy, that’s going to hurt”? Well, don’t listen to the horror stories because they’re not true. This procedure is carried out on thousands of people daily and has a high success rate of more than 90%.

DISEASE OF THE PULP is caused by extensive decay, leakage under an old restoration, traumatic injuries leading to pulp exposure, dentin cracks and periodontal disease.

Let me explain to you exactly what a root canal is; a tooth has two parts, the crown, and the root. The roots have channels that run the length of the root and are filled with pulp (nerves and blood vessels). When this pulp is infected or there is a significant amount of decay and left untreated, this can cause pain or lead to an abscess. A root canal is needed to save the tooth from extraction.

The procedure may be done in one or two appointments depending on the existing infection or decay and will be done under local anesthetic. We open the canals of the tooth and remove the pulp, then the inside of the canals are cleaned and disinfected. After this, we fill the canals with an inert material called gutta-percha and seal it off with cement.

Understand, when a root canal is done the blood supply to the tooth is removed, which makes the tooth very brittle and it can fracture very easily. If the tooth breaks in the wrong place for example: at the root, then it must be extracted. We would normally put a crown on a root canal treated tooth to strengthen and protect the tooth and with proper care, this can last for many years.

Remember a root canal doesn’t cause pain it stops it!

Root Canals: What, Why, and How

A “root canal”, also known as an “endodontic treatment”, is a dental procedure that removes inflamed or infected tooth pulp. (The name for the procedure, “root canal” is a bit confusing because in fact a “root canal” is also the part of the tooth through which the tooth's root passes.) Teeth have sensitive nerves in the pulp and when this tooth material becomes infected pain results. Infection can also be located at the base of a tooth, in the form of an abscess, and this can also cause severe pain, and difficulty chewing.

Infection can result from deep tooth decay, cracked or chipped teeth, repeated dental work, or faulty crowns, among other reasons. Fortunately the dental pulp is not a necessary part of a tooth that has finished its primary development, and root canals take this fact into account to provide a means of eliminating pain caused by infection or inflammation.

Why are root canals done?

A root canal provides an alternative to a tooth extraction, offering the benefits of retaining original teeth and preventing the need for dentures, partial dentures, or dental implants.