You may need a root canal treatment when there is an infection or inflammation in the soft tissue inside the tooth, called the pulp. This infection may occur because of:
- Decay deep inside the tooth
- Previous dental procedures on the same tooth
- Crack or chip in the tooth
- Injury to the tooth that isn’t showing any signs of a problem
- If you don’t treat the inflammation or infection, it can cause pain or lead to an abscess around the bottom of the root of the tooth.
Signs that you may need a root canal include:
- Pain
- Sensitivity to heat and/or cold
- Tenderness when you touch your face in the area of the tooth or when you chew
- Discoloration of the tooth
- Swelling, drainage, and/or tenderness in the lymph nodes in your neck and in the bone and gum tissues surrounding the tooth.
- But you may not have any symptoms at all.
During a root canal, Dr. Murphy will remove the pulp inflammation or infection inside the tooth. Consequently, this should also remove the pain. Then he will fill and seal the space. Root canals have a bad reputation of being a painful procedure. But with modern techniques and anesthetics, most patients don’t feel any pain during the procedure and experience relief after the we remove the infection.
Once the treated tooth heals, we will fit it with a crown or other restoration to make the tooth look and work like new again. Learn more about our same-day crown and tooth restoration system.
