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Hui Dental Group   901 S. El Camino Real, San Mateo CA 94402 CA 94402   800.633.3333         

ROOT CANALS

Inside the tooth is a fine space called the root canal. The root canal contains

the dental pulp. If the dental pulp becomes diseased or dies, a toothache or

an abscess may occur. In the past these problem teeth were extracted but

now your dentist can offer you root canal treatment to care for these teeth.

Local anaesthetic and modern painkillers are used to provide comfortable

treatment. Usually painful symptoms improve once treatment is started. It is

very important that any restoration adequately seals the root filling from

infection by bacteria from the mouth. Teeth requiring root canal treatment

often have large fillings or extensive damage and will require a crown to

restore them properly. These teeth are also weaker and the added protection

of a crown is recommended.

If the root canals are able to be fully cleaned and sealed and the tooth

properly restored then treatment has a very high success rate. The treatment

may take several visits to complete with temporary fillings and dressings

placed in the tooth between visits. Antibiotics are sometimes prescribed

when an infection is present.

Because the root canals are very fine and curved in some teeth it may be

difficult to clean the canals completely. Occasionally a piece of a file may

break off in the root canal due to the strain placed on these fine instruments.

Sometimes these are retrievable but they may also be sealed in the root

canal as part of the filling.

Pain or discomfort may occur between appointments due to ongoing

tenderness of the tissues around the tooth or a flare up of an abscess, or a

hair-line crack in the root.

An abscess or ongoing pain will rarely persist following root canal treatment.

If this occurs the tooth will require some further treatment. Occasionally a

surgical procedure may be required if discomfort persists. The alternatives to

root canal treatment are implants, or extraction followed by bridgework.