London cosmetic dentistry

Archive for the ‘Root canal Treatment’ Category

London Dentist Explains Dental Caries

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

One of the most common disorders in the world, dental caries is just another term for what you might call tooth decay or a cavity. It’s actually a bacterial infection caused by food debris left on the tooth’s surface. This food debris produces acid, which destructs the organic matter of the tooth and demineralises the tooth’s enamel.

Dental caries can be both extremely visible and extremely well-hidden. On the outside of a tooth, they usually begin as a chalky area and develop into a dark cavitation. However, when dental caries develop in less visible areas of the teeth, your dentist may need to use a radiograph or laser to judge how much damage they’re causing.

Other than the visible symptoms, if any of your teeth start to ache, this might be a sign of dental caries, and you should see your dentist immediately. When left untreated, dental caries can have some unpleasant side effects. Not only will your tooth hurt, but you might lose it, and it could get infected.

Your dentist will either prescribe you with a filling, a crown, or a root canal. Fillings involve blocking the cavity in your tooth with an alloy or resin, whereas crowns are used when damage is more extensive and a tooth needs extra support. A root canal is prescribed when the tooth’s nerve has died, and involves removing the dead material and filling the tooth’s roots with sealing material.

Dental caries, despite being common, are a serious problem for many people. It’s advisable to have them seen to straight away – catching them early can reduce the cost and length of the treatment you’ll need, as well as saving you a lot of pain and stress.

Visit your London dentist for a check-up today.

Considering a Root Canal in the City of London? A Dentist Answers Your Questions

Saturday, December 3rd, 2011

Bacterial infection in the centre of the tooth, the root canal system, can be cured with a procedure called endodontics, commonly known as root canal treatment. Although it is an invasive procedure, it can become necessary to perform root canal treatment in order to preserve a tooth that has become severely damaged and infected. Infection can occur in the pulp or root of teeth through tooth decay or serious trauma to the teeth or gums. The treatment normally includes a local anaesthetic before the dentist drills into the tooth and removes infected pulp from the pulp chamber. At the same time the nerve must be removed from your root canal before filling up both the root canal and the empty pulp chamber with a filling. After the procedure your dentist will normally cover the tooth with a crown to protect the area from future damage and complete the treatment. Although there may be some minor soreness associated to the procedure this is greatly preferred to the severe pain associated with an abscessed or damaged tooth. Patients should certainly not fear root canal treatment because any minor pain experienced from the treatment is little in comparison to the untreated tooth. To ask about any concerns or with any further questions or queries you should speak to your local City of London dentist about root canal treatment or any other dental procedure.

Getting Root Canals in London

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

If you’re suffering from tooth decay, it’s probably safe to say that it is pretty much your own fault, because tooth decay is a direct result of poor oral hygiene. This common evil is caused by bacteria and acids being allowed to eat into the tooth’s enamel and get inside and infect the pulp of the tooth. This in turn will then set about destroying the root as well. It is very easy to miss though because the first time you realise that this has happened is when the tooth becomes painful around eating hot and cold foods or fluids- worst case scenario, an abscess will erupt and then you have got problems. The only remedy to this and any chance you have of saving the tooth is to have root canal treatment. This is where everything that is rotten inside the tooth is removed and the roots are drilled out. Then the tooth is filled again with a crown. The procedure has had, in the past, bad press for being extremely painful as getting the whole root removed with conventional drills is not always successful. On the whole, though, modern dental techniques and sedatives make it no more painful than having your teeth de-scaled and polished. And if you have a look around London, you’ll find that there are dentists that use the latest laser technology, such as Waterlase (considered to be completely pain-free),

for this type of procedure. If all this still leaves you a tad cold at the thought of it all, here’s a thing then- clean your teeth properly and don’t skip on dental appointments!

Get effective root canal treatment from Central London dentists

Saturday, December 25th, 2010

Your teeth are actually hollow bodies and inside them is the pulp chamber. The pulp chamber is a vital part of your teeth as it houses a number of important nerves, arteries, veins and other tissue. If you have damaged your tooth to the point where the pulp chamber is affected then you might need root canal treatment. The root canals carry many of the nerves, arteries and veins into the pulp chamber.

An abscess or infection can form if you have had an injury to the mouth which has affected the pulp chamber and caused and infection. This infection might be very painful indeed and can easily spread to the rest of the mouth. If you have a tooth which continually aches, if your gums are swelling and tender in the vicinity of a certain tooth or one of your teeth has turned an unusually dark colour then you may require root canal treatment.

In root canal treatment your dentist will need to drill into the affected tooth once the area has been aneasthetised. This is the easiest way to gain access to the root canals and the pulp chamber. The aim is to remove infected materials from the chamber and the canals and then place a temporary filling where the drilling took place. X-rays will need to be taken to determine the extent of the damage to the pulp and the depth of the canals.

A follow up appointment will be required so your dentist can check that the infection has not returned and fit a permanent crown in place of the temporary filling. If you require more information about root canal treatment speak to your Central London dentist today.

Getting root canal treatment in the city of London

Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010

In the city of London, as with anywhere, getting a root canal strikes fear into heart of its victim. This frightening technique can cause the mother of all pains, almost complete blood loss and ultimately decapitation, or more seriously, death! Sound familiar? The myths that surround root canal treatment have been blown completely out of proportion and in reality; it is no more dangerous or painful than a filling! Maybe if more attention was paid to oral hygiene in the first place, we wouldn’t be discussing this problem right now. A dentist will always be loathed to extract a tooth if it can be saved, and root canal treatment can halt infection at the tooth’s centre. Decay can be caused be poor hygiene, where the build up tartar infects the tooth and decay sets in. It can also be caused by an injury or trauma. Essentially, root canal treatment involves the clearing out of any infection in the tooth and the removal of the roots. Once this has been achieved, the tooth is cleaned and filled, in some cases, with a crown. All this can be done using a local anaesthetic and in 90% of cases, the tooth can last up to a further ten years.

Tooth saving root canal treatment from City of London dentist

Sunday, October 17th, 2010

Dental infections affect the parts of the tooth right near their centre in the root. This makes them very difficult to treat as it is very hard to get to that part of the tooth. That means that in some cases, where the infection has really taken hold, there are only two real options for treatment. One is a complete extraction, removing the tooth and with it the infection. The other is a root canal treatment, which has a fearsome reputation but actually brings an end to pain and enables the patient to keep their tooth.

The root canal treatment takes place under an anaesthetic, which means that it should be no more painful than a regular filling. The dentist drills a hole through the tooth into the root of the tooth (the root canal) and uses this access to treat the infection inside. The dentist will then fill the cavity with medicine to remove any residual traces of the infection before filling the hole they have created and finally capping the tooth with a dental crown.

Obviously, the presence of the drill makes some people afraid and cautious about the root canal procedure but you can rest assured that the pain and unpleasantness of the infection is much worse. Dental infections can be excruciating and a root canal from a City of London dentist could be the only way to safely bring that pain to an end.

Dental infections start when plaque and bacteria erode the protective layer of tooth enamel that coast the tooth. The bacteria is then able to penetrate to the softer more sensitive inner part of the tooth that contains the dental nerve. Then infection will set about destroying the dental nerve which will ultimately result in the death of the tooth so it is essential you receive treatment before it gets to this stage.

The truth about root canal treatments at City of London dentists

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

The root canal treatment has a fearsome reputation but is this really justified and what is the actual truth behind this infamous dental procedure? Well, to be honest, the root canal gets a slightly raw deal. When performed with an anaesthetic, there is no real reason why the treatment should be any more painful than a filling or routine check up and with new dental technology and implements available to dentists, the treatment is all the time becoming less traumatic and more comfortable for the patient.

Furthermore, few people ever consider the benefits the procedure can have for your dental health. Far from being the cause of pain, a root canal is often the solution. It is carried out when the central part of the tooth, where the nerve is located, is infected and under attack. This can be excruciatingly painful but will eventually stop when the dental nerve is destroyed. This might bring an end to your pain but it will almost certainly bring an end to your tooth, which will fall out. The aim of the root canal is to prevent this happening by removing the infection before it can destroy the root.

To do this, your City of London dentist will need to drill a hole down into the root and remove the infected material manually. When the material is removed the cavity will then be filled with medicine to destroy any residual infection and then sealed with a filling or even a dental crown. This will protect the tooth from any further problems and also preserve its functionality.

Once the infection has been removed, the tooth will hopefully be safe from any further damage and the patient free to carry on their life as normal without any pain or dental complication.

Tooth saved with root canal treatment from City of London dentist

Sunday, August 22nd, 2010

Dental pain caused by an infected tooth can be very unpleasant and at times excruciating. This is because dental infections happen when the tough outer part of the teeth is broken down exposing the very sensitive inner part of the tooth, which contains the dental nerve. This nerve will then be attacked by bacteria and infected matter, causing the sensation of pain.

Once a tooth is infected there are several ways of treating it depending on the severity of the infection. If the infection is caught and treated early it may be possible to treat with a course of antibiotics. At the other end of the scale, if the infection is so serious it can not be treated effectively, your City of London dentist may need to remove the tooth altogether.

However, in most cases this is not the case and the tooth can still be treated effectively using a root canal treatment. This involves the dentist drilling down into the heart of the tooth and removing any infected material. They will then clean the cavity before filling it and sealing the tooth with a dental crown. This will protect both the functionality and aesthetic quality of the tooth.

Root canal treatments have a very fearsome reputation, largely because of the pain associated with dental infections and because of the use of the dentists’ drill. In reality, the procedure brings an end to the horrible pain of dental infection and protects the teeth from further damage. It would seem that the root canal gets a slightly harsh treatment in the public consciousness and if carried out properly should be no more painful than a filling or any other standard dental procedure.

A Root Canal isn`t that bad these days, says a Central London dentist

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Sounds awful doesn’t it; A Root Canal. In times past it wasn’t even possible in many places, and if you could get one it was the most painful experience in most people`s life. Today is just a simple operation done under a painless local anaesthetic, you won`t even feel the needle going in your gums to deaden the tooth says a Central London dentist. Infections are caused by a lax oral hygiene routine or even in some cases a crack that allows bacteria to seep into the inner chamber of a tooth. Once in there bacteria will thrive and infect the tooth so badly that the pain is excruciating. Antibiotics will bring infections down and then a tooth can be extracted in most cases. However, to lose a tooth early isn’t a good thing and fixing the problem further can be very expensive. A root canal will in most cases fix the problem for good. The surgeon will drill out the inner enamel of the tooth; this leaves a hollow tooth that exposes the nerve and the inner chamber. The chamber is cleaned up of any infection and then it is cleaned further using an intense light source, this ensures that no bacteria is left to breed again. The hole is then sprayed with a coating of an anti-bacterial liquid and filled back up using a special mix of porcelain to compensate for the missing enamel. This is very hard wearing and acts better than natural enamel. That usually solves the problem and saves the tooth, so don`t be put off.

The truth about root canal treatments at City of London dentist

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

There are few dental treatments that cause as much fear and anxiety as the root canal treatment. Everybody has probably heard the tales about the dentist’s drill and the excruciating pain, but just what is the truth behind this much-feared procedure?

In reality, using anaesthetic and modern treatment methods there really is no reason a root canal should be any more painful than having a filling and if anything could be responsible for bringing an end to the pain of dental infection. Root canals are needed when dental decay has led to the formation of a dental infection in the central part of the tooth. This can be very painful because this is where the very sensitive dental nerve is located.

If this infection is not treated in time it could lead to even more extreme pain, the spread of the infection and the loss of the tooth. With a root canal, the dentist aims to make a hole to gain access to the root part of the tooth. This is accomplished either using a drill or in modern times even with a dental laser. Once inside the root, the City of London dentist will attempt to remove all the infected matter from inside the tooth. They will then fill the cavity with medicine and seal it using filling material and then possibly secure the tooth with a dental crown.

This will kill the infection and ultimately preserve the tooth, even if the dental nerve has for the most part been destroyed. The root canal has a bad reputation but if you’ve ever suffered from severe toothache and had the pain relieved by a root canal you will know this reputation is unjustified.