Root Canal

What is root canal therapy?

Root canal therapy is a procedure in which our dentists remove diseased pulp from the center of your tooth and the root canals. The dental pulp is the soft tissue inside your teeth that contains blood vessels, nerves, and connecting tissue.

In preparation for root canal therapy, our dentists will take an X-ray to see the shape of the root canals of the infected tooth and to determine if there is any infection in the surrounding bone. Your tooth and the surrounding area will then be numbed using anesthesia. Dr. Maletta and team will then remove the pulp, bacteria, decayed nerve tissue, and debris from the tooth. To fill the tooth, a sealer paste and a rubber compound are placed in the root canal. We then seal the tooth with a restoration, such as a crown.

Do I need root canal therapy?

A root canal is needed when a tooth’s pulp becomes infected. When this happens, you will likely have some or all of the following symptoms:

• Severe toothache
• Prolonged tooth sensitivity to hot or cold
• Discoloration of a tooth
• Swelling and tenderness in the gums
• A persistent pimple on the gums

If you experience any of these symptoms, we may recommend a root canal.