Root Canal Therapy

You may think of your teeth as solid and hard, almost like bone. However, your teeth are filled with living tissue consisting of blood vessels, nerves and soft tissue, called pulp. Any damage caused by accident, a heavy blow, high pressure due to hard biting or clenching and grinding can lead to irritation of the pulp and followed by root canal issues.

This living tissue can be very sensitive and injuries to the teeth such as fractures can result in damage to the outer shell, injuring the soft tissue within.

Tooth decay can also result in cavities, allowing the bacteria to break through the hard, outer layer and irreversibly damage the pulp inside if not treated. The pulp can become inflamed, leading to an infection or abscess, with the potential to spread to the surrounding bone.

Symptoms of a root canal infection or damage can include changes in the shade of the teeth to a darker colour, toothache, shooting pain when chewing, constant pressure feeling, inflamed and swollen gums or gum pimples.

It is extremely important to get potential damage or tooth decay checked out right away to ensure the problem can be dealt with as soon as possible and prevent exacerbation of damage to the living tissue.

At Lakeshore Dental Center, our experienced dentists can offer you root canal therapy- also known as endodontic treatment- to get your teeth back to perfect oral health as soon as possible.

Root canal therapy will begin with local anaesthesia or oral sedation. These options will be discussed with you at your appointment and the best choice for you can be made with the advice of our experienced dentists.

A small opening will be cut at the top of the tooth, allowing an entrance into the soft tissue. The compromised pulp will be removed, making sure all sources of infection are removed. The tooth will then be filled to replace the removed soft tissue and secured to prevent any infection regressing.

Once the repairs to the teeth are completed, structural integrity of the teeth will be restored with filling to prevent further damage to the teeth.

A full coverage crown will also be offered at the end of the root canal treatment. During root canal therapy, the blood supply to the infected tooth is cut off. This can result in the tooth becoming more fragile, making it more likely to fracture. The full coverage crown is highly recommended to help combat the fragility and prevent the need for further, more complex restoration, however, this is an optional part of the treatment.

If you are concerned about root canal treatment or wish to enquire about treatment options, call us at 905-278-2913 to get in contact with our team of top dentists at Lakeshore Dental Center today. We are ready and available to help you with our team of experienced dentists and are keen to help you combat any root canal issues you are experiencing.