Root canal treatment is more common than you might think.
A root canal is a dental procedure that requires our Washington, DC Endodontists Dr. Gael Delany, Dr. Julian Moiseiwitsch, and Dr. Naghmeh Latifi to go inside the tooth to remove an inflamed or infected dental pulp. The dental pulp is a mass of soft tissue made up of nerves and blood vessels, and everything from deep decay to a crack in a tooth can cause bacteria to enter the tooth and impact the health of the pulp. The only way to treat this problem is to remove the dental pulp altogether, which means that you’ll need to get root canal therapy.
Dealing with a Toothache?
If you said “yes” then you need to turn to an endodontist specialist in Washington DC as soon as possible. Sure, a toothache doesn’t necessarily mean that you need a root canal but it certainly could.
If your toothache gets worse when chewing or biting down on the tooth, or if you are also experiencing prolonged sensitivity to hot or cold foods or drinks these are also signs of an infected dental pulp.
What happens during a root canal?
The goal of root canal treatment is to,
- Remove the infected dental pulp
- Disinfect the inside of the tooth and its root canals
- Seal up the canals to prevent another infection
- Restore the tooth with a dental crown
A developed tooth can survive without the dental pulp. We will numb the area around the tooth to reduce any discomfort. From there, we will remove the pulp.
Once the pulp has been removed we will disinfect the inside of the tooth. Once the tooth has been cleaned out, we will fill the canals, as well as the inside of the tooth. This filling will help restore the tooth. In most cases, a dental crown will also need to be placed over the tooth in order to restore strength back into the tooth. Since a crown is a custom-made restoration we will need to place the crown during a separate visit.
If you are dealing with any of the issues above in Washington, DC, don’t hesitate to call D.C. Endodontics to book an appointment today.