Root Canal Therapy

rootcanal

Root canal therapy is needed when the pulp of a tooth (the living tissue inside the tooth) is affected by decay or infection. In order to save the tooth, the pulp, bacteria, and any decay are removed and the resulting space is filled with special, medicated, dental materials.

Having a root canal done on a tooth is the treatment of choice to save a tooth that otherwise would die and have to be removed. Many patients believe that removing a tooth that has problems is the solution, but what is not realized is that extracting (pulling) a tooth will ultimately be more costly and cause significant problems for adjacent teeth.

Root canal treatment is highly successful and usually lasts a lifetime, although on occasion, a tooth will have to be retreated due to new infections.

Signs and symptoms for possible root canal therapy
Reasons for root canal therapy
What does root canal therapy involve?