Toothache, unexpected dental work, and time spent in the dentist’s chair are never something to look forward to, but if you’ve got an infected or inflamed pulp, it can be helpful to know exactly what to expect from the off.
Here at The Harley Street Centre for Endodontics, we are specialists in this area of dentistry and are passionate about saving your natural teeth before it’s too late. This type of treatment is known as root canal therapy and today, we’re going to explain the process and all its stages – so you can know exactly what to expect when you come to us.
What Are The Root Canal Treatment Stages?
In a nutshell, root canal therapy is the process of removing inflamed pulp or pulp infected with bacteria from the root canal system of the tooth and then filling the root canal with an inert material to seal from the external environment. The sooner this type of treatment is done, the better to alleviate symptoms.
The most common signs that there’s something going on are pain when hot and cold are taken into the mouth and/or when eating and biting. If you experience one or more of these, it’s the pulp of your tooth is inflamed or infected and should be dealt with straight away to save the tooth and avoid extraction.
Stage 1: Getting a Clear Diagnosis
If you come to our team of dental experts with severe dental pain to hot and cold or when eating and biting on the tooth, we will need to carry out some initial investigations to determine the status of the pulp. The process is not too time-consuming and should be completely pain-free as we run some tests on the affected tooth and take some x-rays. Occasionally, a 3D scan or CBCT is needed to aid and confirm the diagnosis.
Stage 2: Removing The Infection
If the results of the tests and the x-rays or CBCT show that you do indeed have an inflamed or infected pulp, we will then work to remove this from the root of the tooth. We will drill a small opening into the top of the tooth, and proceed to thoroughly clean the root canal, removing any inflammation or infection and applying medication to the area to prevent future infections.
Stage 3: Replacing The Root Canal
Once we’re satisfied that the area is entirely clear of infection, we’ll then go on to fill the sterile and cleaned canal with an inert root filling material. A temporary filling is then placed over the sealed root canals so that you can then return to your general dentist to restore and crown the tooth.
Are You in Need of Root Canal Treatment
We understand that for many of our patients, the thought of having root canal treatment can be daunting, or even frightening. The truth is, whilst invasive, this treatment shouldn’t be painful in the slightest for you. Our experienced team have the know-how and precision to make the process painless. At The Harley Street Centre for Endodontics, we use state-of-the-art anaesthetic techniques to ensure you’re completely pain-free and relaxed during your entire time with us.
We do all of this in a calm and relaxing environment, so you can feel at home from start to finish, knowing you’re in the very best of hands.
If you’ve been ignoring the tell-tale signs of needing root canal treatment, then we encourage you to get in touch with our team. We’re experts in what we do, and if caught in good time, we can help to save your natural teeth through our simple, pain-free root canal treatment.
Find out more today by giving us a call on 020 7935 6393 or email us at info@julianwebber.com and someone will get back to you soon.
