Try Root Canal Therapy To Treat Tooth Pain

Many people have a misunderstanding about the value of root canal therapy. Internet searches, unfortunately, turn up “articles” from people falsely claiming that root canal procedures are riskier than tooth removal.

Dentists prefer to preserve teeth whenever possible. There are some instances with tooth extraction may be preferable, but at Total Dental Care of South Carolina, we are not going to recommend any procedure unless we believe it is the best option for your long-term oral health.

Today, we want to describe the signs that indicate you have an infected tooth. We also want you to understand why and how we perform root canal procedures at our dentist office in Columbia, SC.

Feel The Pain

Your teeth should not hurt.

Your teeth should not cause you pain.

If your teeth are causing you pain, you need to get to the dentist.

Many people are afraid of root canal therapy not because of the procedure, but because they are convinced the procedure will cause them pain.

We’ll explain why that isn’t the case in a moment. For now, just know that root canal therapy is done to relieve the pain caused by your infected tooth.

Here are some of the symptoms that your oral problems could be the result of a tooth infection:

If you are suffering from one or more of these symptoms, please call us to make an appointment. The pain of an infected tooth is not likely to go away on its own.

Alleviate Your Pain

Healthy teeth will not cause you any pain.

The nerves are located on the inside of your teeth, where they are protected by your gums and the outer layers of your teeth.

If you tooth is causing you pain, an infection has reached the interior of your tooth where your nerves share space with soft pulp and blood vessels.

The pain is a side effect of the inflammation of your pulp.

The only way to remove the inflammation is to clean out the inside of your infected tooth. This means removing the blood vessels, nerves, and pulp.

The Root Canal Procedure

Before we perform a root canal, we will examine your mouth. We want to make sure that a root canal is the best option before we begin your treatment. If we determine that a root canal procedure is the best way to end your pain, then we will move forward.

For anyone who is worried about more pain, we have two things that you need to know.

First, we will apply a local anesthetic to number your tooth and tissues around it. If we do nothing else, you won’t feel any pain during your procedure.

Second, we can provide sedation dentistry for any patient who is concerned that the local anesthetic won’t be enough. Nitrous oxide and oral conscious sedation are the two most common types of sedation dentistry we provide.

Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) is a fast-acting gas that will keep you calm and prevent you from feeling any pain. Oral conscious sedation is stronger, and you may feel like you slept through your procedure. You will need someone else to take you home if you do receive this kind of dental sedation, however.

Once we know you are ready, then we will make an opening in your tooth. Using special tools, we will remove the infected pulp, nerves, and blood vessels. The next step is cleaning and sanitizing the inside of your tooth.

To replace what we have removed, we fill your tooth with a special material called gutta percha. This helps your tooth retain its shape, and it reduces your risk of a new infection.

To seal the tooth, we can place a dental crown on your tooth. The crown will restore the appearance of your tooth and provide another layer of protection.

Get The Facts And Get Rid Of Your Pain

If you have questions or concerns about a toothache, turn to a dental team that you can trust. If you live in our near Columbia, SC, that dentist office is Total Dental Care of South Carolina.

Use our online form or call 803-272-4162 so we can help relieve the pain of your toothache as soon as possible.

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