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The root canal of your tooth is the part of the tooth which extends into the bone of the jaw, rooting the tooth into place. It isn’t visible from inside the mouth, and includes the dental pulp in the center of your tooth. One tooth may have more than one root canal. Sometimes, root canals can become infected by bacteria. This usually happens when fillings leak, and is also commonly caused by tooth decay or trauma.
While an infected root canal doesn’t always hurt to begin with, clear signs and symptoms usually appear. Visibly, your tooth may look discoloured or cracked. The gum around the tooth may be swollen, and you might find touching or apply pressure to the tooth to be painful.
Depending on the severity of the infection, your City of London dentist will either recommend root canal treatment or, in extreme cases, extraction. Root canal treatment is often performed in two visits to your dentist – in the first visit, your dentist will administer anesthetic and perform the root canal procedure to clear out your tooth and remove the infection. Antiseptics will then be applied to your tooth until the second visit.
Your dentist will ensure that the infection is gone before they give you a new crown and/or filling. This completes the procedure: the dental pulp of your tooth has been removed, which should stop the tooth from hurting without taking away the normal feelings and sensitivity of the tooth.
Root canal treatment is a relatively painless procedure which is necessary if a root canal becomes infected. Putting off seeing your dentist about an infected root canal will only make the problem worse, and could lead to the tooth being extracted. Make an appointment with your City of London dentist immediately if you think you may need root canal treatment.