Root Canal Treatment

Inside each tooth is a chamber and a root canal or canals. In this space is a living tissue called the pulp which contains a complex network of nerves, blood vessels and other fine tissue.

This space is normally protected by the outer structure of the tooth. However, if a cavity was develop and reach the pulp, or if your tooth develops fractures, bacteria can make its way in. This can lead to pain and/or infections which require treatment. In this situation your dentist will often recommend root canal treatment if you wish to try to save the tooth and avoid extracting it.

The procedure is normally carried out under local anaesthetic. The aim of root canal treatment is to remove the bacteria from inside the tooth and to disinfect the root canals. This is achieved by making a small hole through the tooth to access the pulp chamber. The next steps involve locating and measuring the root canals, then cleaning and widening them using fine instruments called files.

The inside of the infected tooth is cleaned using special instruments and disinfecting solutions. To help keep your tooth clean during the procedure, most dentists use a rubber dam (to help keep the tooth isolated for the dentist to work on as well as providing many other benefits). Once clean, each of the root canals are filled to seal them from potential re-infection.

Root canal treatment is a skilled and time-consuming procedure and most courses of treatment will involve two or more visits.

This is always the top concern for patients undergoing all kinds of dental treatment and the most often asked root canal question we hear. Luckily, root canal treatment is always performed under local anaesthetic.

If you’re particularly anxious about your root canal treatment, speak to our team at Hermitage Clinic and as we may be able to arrange for you to have dental sedation for the procedure.

Your comfort and safety are extremely important to us so we will do everything we can to ensure you feel as relaxed as possible throughout your root canal treatment.

Many factors can affect the success of the root canal treatment, but our dentists are highly trained and will do their best to ensure that we achieve the best outcome for you. As you can imagine, root canal treatment is a very skilled procedure which takes time to complete. Rare complications can include broken files or damage to the roots caused by the files or drills used. In some cases, despite the dentists’ best efforts complete healing may not happen.

Following the procedure, you may feel some discomfort, which can be eased by over the counter painkillers if required.

If your tooth was already painful before your treatment, expect that it may take a bit of time for this to settle as the infection begins to clear.

In most cases the only alternative to root canal treatment is to have the whole tooth removed. However, where possible it is almost always best to try to save your teeth if you can. Extraction may seem like the easier option, but root canal treatment is both routine and has a very high rate of success. It also means you will avoid the usual troubles that come with having a tooth extracted, such as teeth misaligning, difficulty eating, and loss of jawbone density and strength.

Root canal treatments can solve the problem and mean you get to keep your own teeth for many years to come.