Root canal

A root canal treatment is a procedure where damaged or diseased dental pulp is removed and replaced by a biocompatible material or post to ensure your tooth still functions as normal.

Root canal treatment is performed under local anaesthetic so you don’t feel the procedure. The tooth will be isolated using a rubber dam to keep the area clean. Your Endodontist will drill into your tooth and remove the dental pulp. They will then disinfect the area thoroughly.

After the inside of your tooth has been cleaned out, your Endodontist will seal the area with a rubber-like material called gutta-percha. Sometimes, this process may require two or more visits.

Endodontics is a specialist field of dentistry that treats inflamed or infected dental pulp. The most common endodontic procedure is a root canal treatment.

Dental pulp is the living tissue inside your teeth that contains vital cells, blood vessels and nerves. The dental pulp extends down into the roots of your teeth through small canals known as ‘root canals’.

Dental pulp nourishes your teeth and keeps them ‘alive’. If your dental pulp gets infected, it is very painful and often requires a root canal treatment to prevent the tooth from dying and falling out.

Your dental pulp can become inflamed and infected if it comes into contact with bacteria. This can happen from tooth decay, cracks in your teeth, old fillings that have leaked or from oral trauma.

No, root canal treatment should not be painful. In fact, it can help you find relief from the pain of an infected tooth! Root canal treatment is completely painless in the strong majority of cases when performed properly by an expert under the appropriate analgesia.

Properly performed root canal treatments have very good long-term success rates. If you look after your treated tooth well, it can last you a lifetime. If you have a root canal treatment on your back teeth, it’s essential to have your teeth restored with a dental crown for added strength.

Root canal treatment is a complex procedure. If it isn’t performed by an experienced specialist with the correct equipment, it can lead to reinfection and failure of treatment.

If a root canal treatment fails and the tooth becomes re-infected it may be possible to try again with a ‘root canal retreatment’. If cysts have formed, it may be possible to carry out a procedure known as ‘apical microsurgery’ to remove the infection directly at its source.

If the root of the tooth becomes cracked or there isn’t adequate tooth structure remaining, endodontic treatment may not be possible. Your Endodontist will speak with you to determine if root canal treatment is viable for your tooth.

If your tooth cannot be treated with a root canal, we will usually need to extract the tooth. We can replace it with a removable denture, a dental bridge or a dental implant.

There is currently no evidence that successfully root canal treated teeth are linked to any medical conditions. However, there is some evidence that inflammatory diseases, infected dental pulp and gum disease can be associated with health conditions like heart disease.

This is why it’s important to treat infected teeth. If you suspect that your root canal treated tooth is still infected, contact our team as soon as possible so we can assess and retreat as necessary.