What is the treatment procedure for a root canal?

If you need a root canal, the chances are you want to save your tooth from extraction or the treatment is needed ahead of other dental work you may require.

Root canals are performed because a tooth’s nerve and blood supply has been compromised and that supply has become irreversibly damaged. This can mean the tooth is either painfully inflamed in the process of dying or is already dead and infected. In either of these instances, a root canal can be performed to prevent the tooth from extraction.

Although root canal treatments are one dental procedure that often cause consternation for patients, in reality the procedure is straightforward and should be pain free.

Firstly, numbing gel is used to minimise and discomfort the gums prior to a local anesthetic injection, which numbs the tooth itself so no painful sensations can be felt by the patient. In my opinion, this is the most important step of the treatment. If the tooth is not fully numb then you will potentially frighten the patient for life and never get another recommendation again!

At ARCENDO we have all the equipment and experience you need to accurately and safely numb even the most difficult cases and we do not move onto the next stage of the procedure until the patient is happy and comfortable that the entire tooth is fully anesthetized.

Once a tooth is numbed, a root canal procedure aims to remove the inflamed or dead tissue from the intricate confines of the roots of the tooth. This is done by creating space in the shape of a cone in each canal which allows for the cleansing of the root canals. Once the roots have been optimally cleaned they are then filling with sealers and root filling materials to create a tight seal to stop the potential ingress of bacterial infection in the future.

After the root canal dentist has completed the treatment a temporary filling is placed and the tooth is given time to settle. Once the tooth has settled and pain after root canal procedure has totally subsided, we can then move on to filling or crowning the tooth to make sure there are not  root canal complications after all that hard work!

ARCENDO | Endodontist London

Is root canal treatment painful ?

If you need a root canal to save your tooth then you probably believe that you will require a lot of painful treatment... Wrong!

There is a misconception that root canal treatment is painful, takes many different trips to the dentist and costs a fortune.

However, modern dentistry means that is not usually the case and nowadays most root canal treatments are pain free.

Of course, in some rare cases when the tooth is severely inflamed, it may take some specialist tools and techniques to make the tooth comfortable to treat but that is easily achievable and something we at ARCENDO specialise in.

We have all the experience, equipment, time and patience required to perform root canal treatments in a pleasant and comfortable environment and we have a success rate of over 95 percent in primary cases.

Although most dentists can carry out this treatment, there are many factors that determine a successful outcome in root canal therapy and it is for that reason that your dentist may wish to refer you to an endodontist to give you the best chance of saving and keeping your tooth.

At ARCENDO we aim to alleviate all your concerns about the treatment and we will sit with you for as long as it takes, answering as many questions as you have until you are completely at ease with your scheduled treatment.

Increasingly advanced root canal techniques ensure that we are able to achieve great success in less time due to the advancement of root canal files, magnification, 3D imaging, and ultrasonic cleaning techniques and by staying abreast of the the latest advances in the field of root canals, we continue to achieve a high success rate and, more importantly, happy patients - which is our overwhelming goal.

ARCENDO | Endodontist London