Root Canal Therapy

What Is a Root Canal? – St. Joseph, MO Dentist Explains

A root canal is a procedure used to treat the infected, inflamed, or dead pulp of a tooth. The pulp is a soft material in the middle of the tooth that contains connective tissue, nerves, and blood vessels. The pulp chamber is the hollow material in the middle of the tooth that holds the pulp, continuing down the canals that extend past the roots of teeth and in to the adjacent bone. Sometimes roots contain more than one canal, but roots hold a minimum of one canal.

During treatment, St. Joseph, MO Dentist Dr. Krasniqi, removes the pulp of the tooth, following with packing and sealing of the canals and pulp chamber to stop the entrance of bacteria.

Why Is a Root Canal Necessary?

Occasionally a patient will feel aching or pain, alarming them to visit the dentist for a root canal or other treatment, but most frequently there are no warning signs of anything being wrong. Individuals can damage the nerve or pulp of the tooth in a number of ways.

Common Causes for Root Canal Treatment:

Sensitivity to Hot & Cold: A toothache is the most regular symptom typically calling for a root canal. Specific types of pain come from a tooth requiring a root canal. If the tooth remains alive, the individual will feel tremendous sensitivity to hot or food and beverages, with continuing sensitivity even when the food or drink is no longer in the mouth.

Abscess (infection): Abscesses are infections that happen following the death of the tooth’s pulp, forming a pocket of pus that encases the end of the tooth’s root. Once the tooth dies becomes abscessed, the affected individual will experience pain when apply pressure to the tooth, most often when they chew food. Sometimes and abscess causes swelling or bleeding, on occasion, considerable swelling of the jaw, cheek, throat, or a combination. The only method of eliminating the infection wholly is by performing root canal and removing all bacteria and dead tissue inside the pulp chamber and root canals.

Deep Cavity: If tooth decay spreads far enough into the tooth, the pulp will develop a bacterial infection. This results in inflammation and pain, or the pulp of the tooth dies and turns into decayed tissue. In some cases there is no pain at all, but the only way to remove all the tooth decay and decaying tissue is through a root canal treatment.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, would like more information on root canal procedural costs, or would like to schedule a consultation Call Us Now at: 816-671-9550.