ROOT CANAL THERAPY

Root Canal Therapy

A severe toothache. A discoloured tooth. Oozing sores on the gums. Local warmth or an overall fever. These are symptoms of an infected tooth, which can threaten more than your teeth: it can threaten your health or even your life. Fortunately, root canal therapy can remove the infection and restore your tooth to health, function, and beauty. Root canal therapy has a reputation of being a painful procedure, but these days, it’s more of a pain-relieving procedure.

If you know or suspect you have an infected tooth and are looking for root canal therapy in Hawkesbury, please call (02) 4501 7930 or book an appointment today with a dentist at Riverlands Dental in North Richmond.

Symptoms of an Infected Tooth 

It’s important to recognize an infected tooth and get treatment quickly. Watch for the symptoms of tooth infection, such as:
Severe toothache–may be spontaneous or in response to temperature, pressure, or sweets
  • Discoloured tooth
  • Chronic bad breath or foul taste in mouth
  • Pimple-like sores on the gums
  • Oozing sores on the gums
  • Local warmth at a tooth
  • Fever
Most people with an infected tooth will feel pain. The tooth pain might be spontaneous or it might be sensitivity to temperature, pressure, or sweets. The pain is often so severe that you can’t sleep or go about your normal routine. You might also feel an “echo pain” in other parts of your body when your tooth hurts. But not everyone feels pain–don’t let a lack of pain convince you that you don’t have an infection.

When bacteria infect a tooth, they kill the pulp that lives inside, replacing it with bacteria. This can cause tooth discolouration.

Bad breath and a foul taste in the mouth often come from drainage out of the infected tooth. This sign is in common with gum disease. 

Sores in your mouth appear as the infection spreads out of the tooth and into the bone and gums around the tooth. When these appear, the infection isn’t threatening just the tooth anymore.

If you touch the infection site, you might feel warmth, the result of your body sending resources to combat the infection. A fever is your body trying to fight the infection, which threatens to go systemic.
  • How Does a Tooth Get Infected

    A healthy tooth is protected by enamel and dentin, which keep bacteria out. If a cavity develops through the enamel and dentin, bacteria can get in. Tooth trauma or wear can also make holes that let bacteria in.

  • Why Not Treat a Tooth Infection with Antibiotics?

    Antibiotics can be used to help treat an infected tooth, but the limited blood supply in the tooth makes them less effective. Plus, a tooth can easily get re-infected until it gets sealed.

How Root Canal Therapy Works

In root canal therapy, we need to remove the infected or potentially infected tissue in the tooth. We will first drill into the tooth. Then we will use tools to scrape out the infected tissue. We need to get it all, including the tissue in the narrow passages in the tooth roots–the actual root canals.
Once the tooth is clean, we will fill it with materials that help support it the way your natural tooth pulp did.

Then we will seal the tooth with a restoration–usually a dental crown. The tooth will look and function like a natural tooth.

Does Root Canal Therapy Hurt?

Root canal therapy has a reputation that comes from early dentistry, when anesthesia was unavailable or unreliable. Under those conditions, removing the tooth pulp, which includes the tooth nerve, is obviously painful.

With modern anesthesia, most people feel little or no discomfort during a root canal procedure. After the procedure, they may have some discomfort, but within a few days, it is typically less than it was before the procedure. Most people who get the procedure these days see it as a pain-relieving procedure more than anything.

However, we understand that some patients might be anxious about the procedure because of its reputation. We practice compassion and work to make every patient feel safe, no matter the procedure. But with a procedure like this, we understand that some people might benefit from sedation dentistry.

Compassionate Root Canal Therapy in Hawkesbury 

If you are looking for a dental office that uses the latest technologies and techniques, combined with a compassionate approach, you should put Riverlands Dental at the top of your list. Please call (02) 4501 7930 or book an appointment with one of our skilled and caring dentists.

Disclaimer: Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.
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