Save Your Tooth with Root Canal Treatments

Dentist in Mentor OH Discusses Why Root Canal Treatments May be Necessary to Protect Your Smile

There are a number of treatments available that are made to repair and restore your smile. Dentistry has come quite far and has the ability to give patients a completely new and transformed look just by improving the way your teeth look and feel. Your dentist in Mentor OH can perform a root canal, saving your infected tooth from a potential extraction. Learn more about this procedure and why it’s highly recommended and successful.

Millions of teeth are treated and saved every year with the popular endodontic treatment. The pulp of your tooth can become infected or inflamed, causing a great amount of discomfort for the patient. There are a number of reasons that a tooth can become damaged: severe tooth decay, chips or cracks in the tooth, repeated treatment on one tooth, faulty crowns or other procedure all have the ability to infect and injure your smile.

Inside your tooth and under the protective surface of the enamel and dentin, there’s soft tissue called pulp. This contains blood vessels, nerves and connective tissue which helps grow the root of your tooth during its development. While this area can become infected and damaged, a fully developed tooth has the ability to survive without the pulp since its protected and nourished by the surrounding tissue. A root canal treatment is the process of removing the infected/inflamed pulp so it doesn’t continue to spread and damage the rest of the teeth.

Without a root canal treatment, patients will suffer from difficulty eating and drinking, intense and sharp pain, dull aches and pressure to the tooth and surrounding area, and tenderness of the nearby gums. The pain can appear in short bursts or can last throughout your entire day.

After the pulp is removed, the inside of the tooth is carefully and efficiently cleaned and disinfected, then filled and sealed with protective mineral so there’s no way bacteria can return to that area again. After being further protected with a crown or filling, there will be a restoration period before your tooth goes back to functioning like the rest of them!

If you think you need a root canal, don’t hesitate to call your dentist in Mentor OH at (440) 357-1222 and schedule an appointment today.