Gentle Root Canal Treatment in Morrisville
If you’ve noticed that your cheek is tender to the touch or you have persistent discomfort over a tooth, you may need root canal therapy. Smile Forever Family Dentistry can help. We know dental pain can feel overwhelming, but our staff is here to walk you through the process and help you feel at ease during root canal treatment.
We use our skills and experience to start treatment quickly so you can find relief from pain. For root canal therapy in Morrisville, contact us to schedule your appointment today!
How Does Root Canal Treatment Work?
Root canal treatment treats and eliminates infection that has reached the center of the tooth. When bacteria get inside your tooth, the inner soft tissue, like the blood vessels and nerves, becomes inflamed and needs to be removed. Root canal therapy is the treatment we use to remove that inflamed tissue while retaining as much of your natural tooth’s structure as possible.
Signs of Tooth Infection
The most common sign of a tooth infection is sharp or chronic tooth pain. However, with some tooth infections, you won’t feel any pain at all. Keeping up with your routine dental appointments can help detect dental issues before they become larger problems. If you think you may have a tooth infection, come see us for an evaluation. You could benefit from seeing us sooner rather than later if you notice any of these signs:
- Sudden, sharp, or chronic tooth pain
- Pain when chewing
- Swollen and red gums
- Sensitivity to hot or cold foods and beverages
- Swollen cheek
- Darkening tooth enamel
- Abscess on your gum
The Root Canal Therapy Process
If you think you have a tooth infection, come see us. Dr. Dudee starts by taking X-rays of the affected tooth to see the extent of the infection. We’ll then numb the area with an anesthetic to help you feel comfortable and at ease during the procedure. We make a tiny opening in your tooth and remove the inflamed soft tissue from the inner chamber where the infection is.
Once the infected tissue is gone, Dr. Dudee will disinfect your tooth’s inner chamber and root canals to prevent reinfection. We fill your tooth with an antibacterial material and reseal it to protect the vulnerable inner tooth. Then, we will likely make a dental crown and fit it over the remaining natural tooth structure to strengthen it and restore function.
Benefits of Root Canal Therapy
When you’re experiencing discomfort from a persistent toothache, you can often find relief after a root canal treatment. By eliminating the issue, you could improve your quality of life. Some of the other benefits of completing treatment can include:
- Saving your natural tooth’s structure
- Preventing the infection from spreading to your surrounding teeth or gums
- Restoring your bite force
- Eliminating sensitivity to hot and cold
- Preventing the jawbone from atrophying by keeping your tooth in place
- Improving your oral and overall health
Root Canal Treatment FAQs
When you have a toothache, you want to know your options. Our team is available to discuss root canal therapy with you, and Dr. Dudee can answer any questions during the evaluation. Some questions that have been asked include:
Would root canal therapy be better than an extraction?
Root canal therapy is used to attempt to save your natural tooth. It’s usually the more cost-effective option in the long run, given the costs of a replacement tooth. However, if the damage is too extensive or the infection is too severe, removing the tooth may be the safer option. Dr. Dudee strives to give you the safest treatment option available.
How long does root canal treatment take?
Is root canal therapy safe?
Quality Morrisville Endodontics
Our team at Smile Forever Family Dentistry knows that root canal therapy is an excellent option that saves teeth from infections. From the moment you walk through our doors, we strive to make your experience as smooth as possible. Our team provides a compassionate chairside manner to help you feel at ease during treatment. We can make accommodations for you to make the process easier, from taking frequent breaks to giving detailed explanations as we move through the procedure. Contact our Morrisville office about root canal therapy to schedule your appointment today!
Root Canal Retreatment
In rare cases, root canal therapy fails to work as expected. The treated tooth might not heal properly, or a patient might experience post-surgical complications that jeopardize the tooth. Root canal retreatment involves removing the previous crown and packing material, cleaning the root canals, and repacking and recrowning the tooth. Root canal retreatment is almost identical to the original procedure, aside from the structural removal. The success rate for root canal retreatment is around 75%.
For most individuals, root canal treatments and retreatments are a better alternative to extraction. If a tooth has good bone support, a solid surface, and healthy gums beneath it, it stands a good chance of being saved. Root canal retreatment can be far less expensive than the alternatives. Dental implants, extensive bridgework, and aesthetically pleasing prosthetic teeth cost far more than working with the natural tooth. They also require maintenance and feel less natural than a “real” tooth.
Why is root canal retreatment required?
There are a number of reasons why root canal therapy unexpectedly fails, including:
- Cracked crown or leaking filling material.
- Curved or narrow canals not treated during the original procedure.
- Delay in placing restorative devices after the procedure.
- New decay to the tooth.
- New fracture in the treated tooth.
- Saliva enters the restorative structure.
- Undetected complex canal structures.
Chipped Tooth
Chipped and fractured teeth are common dental problems. As people retain their natural teeth longer (due to advances in dental technology), the likelihood of chipped teeth increases. Teeth may chip for many reasons, such as biting hard objects, trauma, and grinding or clenching. All of these behaviors put extra strain on the teeth and make them more susceptible to cracking.
When tooth enamel is damaged, pain can become momentarily debilitating. In the absence of pressure on the chip, there may be no discomfort. However, when the chipped tooth bites, the damage widens. The pulp and inner workings of the tooth then become exposed, causing painful irritation. When you release pressure, the two parts of the chip fuse back together, and the pain subsides. If left untreated, the pulp becomes irreversibly damaged and constantly painful. The resulting pulp infection can affect the bone and soft tissue surrounding the tooth.
Symptoms of a chipped tooth may include:
- Unexplained pain when eating.
- Sensitivity to warm and cold foods.
- Pain with no obvious cause.
- Difficulty pinpointing the location of the pain.
What kind of chips can affect the teeth?
There are many ways in which a tooth can be damaged. The type of chip or fracture determines what treatment is viable. If the damage is not too serious, Dr. Dudee can perform root canal therapy and keep the natural tooth. In other situations, the tooth is too badly damaged and requires extraction.
Here is a brief overview of some of the most common types of damage:
Crazes: These are generally tiny vertical fractures that don’t place the teeth in danger. These scratches on the surface of the teeth are considered by most dentists to be a normal part of the tooth anatomy. A craze rarely requires treatment for health reasons, but a wide variety of cosmetic treatments can reduce its negative aesthetic impact.
Oblique supragingival chips: These chips only affect the crown of the tooth and don’t extend below the gum line. Usually, the affected part of the tooth will eventually break off. Pain is usually minimal because the tooth pulp (which contains the nerves and vessels) remains unaffected.
Oblique subgingival chips: These chips extend beyond the gum line and often beyond where the jawbone begins. When a piece breaks off, it will usually remain attached until Dr. Dudee removes it. Oblique subgingival chips are painful and may require a combination of periodontal surgery (to expose the crown) and endodontic treatment to place a crown or other restorative device.
Vertical furcation chips: These fractures occur when the roots of the tooth separate. This type of damage almost always affects the tooth’s nerve. Because the tooth generally doesn’t separate completely, root canal therapy and a crown can usually save the tooth.
Oblique root chips: These chips tend not to affect the tooth surface at all. In fact, the damage is only apparent below the gum line and usually below the jawbone. Root canal therapy may be possible, depending on how close the fracture is to the tooth surface. However, extraction is almost always the only option after sustaining this classification of fracture.
Vertical apical root chips: These fractures occur at the apex (tip of the root). Although the tooth may not require extraction from a dental perspective, many patients request extraction because of the high degree of pain. Root canal therapy often relieves the discomfort for a while, but teeth affected by such damage are often extracted eventually.
How are chips in the teeth treated?
There are many types of tooth damage. Some can only be detected with an X-ray, while others are clearly visible to the naked eye. When the tooth root is affected, root canal therapy is the most viable treatment option. The pulp, nerves, and vessels of the tooth will be removed, and the resulting space will be filled with gutta-percha. A crown or filling will be added to stabilize the tooth, and it will continue to function as normal.
If the damage is too severe to save the tooth, Dr. Dudee will extract it. In this case, you may have several restorative options, such as bridges, dental implants, and partial dentures. All of these structures can restore biting, chewing, and speaking functions.
If you have any questions or concerns about cracked teeth, please contact our office.
