Root Canals
The treatment that ends the pain, not the one that causes it
Root canal therapy has an outdated reputation. In practice it relieves severe toothache and saves a tooth that would otherwise be extracted.
What is actually happening inside the tooth
Each tooth contains a pulp chamber holding nerve and blood vessels. When deep decay, a crack, or trauma allows bacteria into that space, the pulp becomes inflamed and then infected. Because it is enclosed in rigid dentin, pressure builds with nowhere to go — which is why the pain can be so intense and why it often throbs at night.
Untreated, the infection travels out the root tip into surrounding bone and forms an abscess. At that point the risk is no longer confined to the tooth.
How treatment is performed
The tooth is thoroughly numbed and isolated with a rubber dam. We open the chamber, remove the infected tissue, shape the canals with fine rotary instruments, disinfect thoroughly, and seal the space with a biocompatible filling material.
Cone beam 3D imaging helps identify additional or curved canals that two-dimensional X-rays can miss — the most common reason a root canal fails elsewhere and needs redoing.
Why the crown afterward is not optional
A treated back tooth is structurally weakened and dehydrated. Without full coverage it is significantly more likely to fracture vertically, and a vertical root fracture usually cannot be saved.
We plan the final restoration as part of the treatment from the start, not as a separate decision months later.
What the appointment involves
- 01
Diagnose
Cold and bite testing plus imaging to confirm the pulp is the source of the pain.
- 02
Treat
Anesthesia, isolation, cleaning and shaping of the canals, disinfection, and sealing.
- 03
Restore
A crown or onlay to protect the tooth from fracture and return full function.
Frequently asked questions
Is a root canal painful?+
The procedure itself feels similar to having a filling placed, because the tooth is fully anesthetized. What hurts is the infected pulp beforehand; treatment is what stops it.
How many visits does it take?+
Most teeth are completed in one or two visits. Severely infected teeth sometimes need an intermediate medicated dressing.
Would extraction be simpler?+
Simpler that day, more complicated afterward. Losing the tooth means bone loss, drifting neighbors, and eventually an implant or bridge that costs more than saving it.
What if it still hurts afterward?+
Mild tenderness for a few days as the surrounding ligament settles is normal. Pain that increases or persists past a week should be re-evaluated, and we will see you promptly.
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