Do You Suffer From Tooth Pain?
If so, then you may have an infected tooth and need a root canal.
Tooth pain is simply too powerful to ignore, despite your best attempts. Aside from the fact that it compromises your oral health, anyone who’s encountered tooth pain knows just how much it can impact your quality of life, making it hard to chew, smile, sleep or do much of anything successfully.
If throbbing tooth pain is combined with gum swelling, a loose tooth or a funny taste in your mouth, you may need a root canal specialist to diagnose the problem and perform a root canal procedure.
Have Our Experts Diagnose Your Tooth Problem
Rockville Dental Arts has the experience, resources and team of dedicated dental professionals who are devoted to the endodontic procedures that deliver results.
Those results are made manifest by resolving tooth pain and performing any ongoing after-care endodontic needs associated with root canal therapy.
You may be wondering, however, what is a root canal and what is involved in a root canal procedure and how long it will take?
How Long Does a Root Canal Take?
A root canal procedure can take anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes depending on the tooth in question and the number of roots in the tooth.
Front teeth, incisors, and side teeth, canines and premolars only have 1 or 2 roots and therefore are simple root canals. They are quick to locate the dental pulp and clean the root system for dentists with lots of experience.
Molars on the other hand, have 2, 3 or 4 roots and will take longer to complete the procedure.
After the treatment a temporary filling will be placed to seal the tooth and allow it to heal.
What is a Root Canal?
There are two different ways to describe what a root canal is all about: the short and long version.
Let’s get the long one out of the way first. As the American Association of Endodontists puts it, a root canal is a highly effective treatment that removes harmful bacteria from infecting pulp tissue.
Dental pulp lies beneath the outer harder coatings of the tooth (like enamel, which helps to keep teeth strong and from cracking more frequently) and is very soft. Underneath the pulp lies a bundle of highly sensitive nerve fibers.
Left to its own devices, the bacteria can attack these nerves and cause permanent damage, not to mention severe pain.
How is a Root Canal done?
What the root canal does is clean out the offending bacteria at the root, thereby saving the tooth from ongoing adverse health effects.
First our dentist will numb the soft tissue with a local anesthesia to ensure adequate numbness. We get our patients comfortable 100% of the time.
Once you are numbed, a small hole is made in the tooth and the pulp is removed as well as any nerve blood vessels. The inside of the natural tooth can then be cleaned and disinfected properly.
A material called gutta percha is permanently filled in the canal. It is a rubber like material that we melt into the tooth. A temporary filling is placed to close the tooth.
Now for the short answer:
Performing root canal treatment is all about saving teeth from irreversible damage.
And while it’s a very common procedure after repeated dental procedures— roughly 15 million are performed every year in the U.S. alone, according to the AAE — it’s also a very specialized treatment, which is why it requires an expert dentist.
Rest assured that the hygienists, dentists and endodontists at Rockville Dental Arts have the skills, training and both to diagnose when a root canal is necessary and perform the treatment quickly and completely.
Our team is led by Dr. Dennis Norkiewicz, who has been performing root canal treatment for patients for many years and received his Doctorate in Dental Surgery from the University of Maryland, one of the more highly acclaimed dental schools.
You’re in good hands with Dr. Norkiewicz and his competent team of general dentists.
When do you Need a Root Canal Done?
Endodontic procedures like root canals are entirely conditions-based; in other words, whether you need one is dependent on symptoms and the state of the affected tooth.
Classic symptoms suggesting you have the beginnings of a root canal infection include gum swelling or tenderness, persistently throbbing tooth pain and a bad or funny aftertaste in the mouth.
An abscess tooth is another indication that a root canal may be required.
We get it: Root canals aren’t exactly at the top of your to-do list, but it’s not something to put off. At Rockville Dental Arts, we pledge to make the experience as pain-free as possible with as much local anesthesia as needed.
Contact us today or let us know if you have any other needs: Our endodontic procedures and treatment resolutions are wide-ranging.
