Dental care & Root Canals

The media has stereotyped root-canal treatment as being terrible, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Every tooth decay is undetected and gets too large, the root canal system sends pain signals to the brain, which interprets it as sensitivity or pain. If left for too long, the root canal system dies and rots inside the tooth, and this may lead to a chronic abscess or jawbone infection.

Root canal treatment is the removal of this dead tissue, and cleaning the empty chambers and tunnels from germs. these tunnels are then filled with an inert filling material, and the tooth is crowned to prevent further damage. The tooth is then given a new lease of life.

At times, teeth may not feel any pain as the nerves in the root canal may die off too quickly to send their warning signals; this is where regular dental checkups and x-rays come in. it is usually best to detect decay early and to have it filled or treated with topical fluoride, rather than wait for disaster to happen.

Occaisonally, root canal treatment is required before a large crown is made, so that the space inside the chamber may be used to reinforce the crown for strength.

Treatment nowadays is so comfortable that patients have been known to fall asleep during the procedure, and start snoring!