A root canal is one of the most common dental procedures performed, well over 14 million every year. This simple treatment can save your natural teeth and prevent the need of dental implants or bridges.
The center of all teeth are hollow. This hollow space is filled with soft tissue,blood vessels and nerve fibers called the pulp. This pulp tissue can become inflamed or infected due to a variety of reasons. This inflammation or infection of the pulp can be caused by trauma to the tooth, deep decay, cracks and chips, or repeated dental procedures. Symptoms of the infection can be identified as visible injury or swelling of the tooth, sensitivity to temperature or pain in the tooth and gums.
Treatment of these symptoms is to remove the pulp tissue from the hollow part of the tooth and then sealing the hollow space in the roots. Sealing the roots prevents bacteria from getting under a filling or crown and causing another infection down in the bone around the tooth.
Most times there is very little discomfort with the procedure. That is why it is important to get in right away when you have a toothache. The longer you wait,the more deep seated the inflammation or infection becomes. This is what can make the tooth harder to treat.