Advancements in dental technology have made root canals a far easier experience than in decades past. Dr. Quang Cao Tran, DDS, of Smiles in Springfield in Springfield, Virginia, performs frequent root canals that eliminate pain and provide structural support to damaged teeth. Learn more about the procedure during a personalized exam, which you can book online or over the phone today.
A root canal is a procedure that removes and replaces infected tooth pulp. To understand the procedure, it helps to think about the structure of your teeth.
The outermost layer of a tooth is a hard, white tissue called enamel. Just beneath lies another layer of hard tissue called dentin. Beneath your dentin is a hollow chamber filled with a soft tissue called pulp.
Your pulp is comprised of nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissues. If this pulp becomes infected, the only way to heal that infection is with a root canal.
Tooth pulp can become infected due to the following:
In some cases, there is no clear cause of infected pulp.
You receive numbing medication to ensure you rest comfortably during your root canal, so there’s no need to be fearful of pain or discomfort. Your dentist begins by creating a small access hole in your tooth to reach the inner chamber.
Dental tools called files help your dentist remove all traces of infected pulp from that inner chamber. The walls of the tooth root are cleaned and shaped, and space is rinsed before a material called gutta-percha fills the cleared chamber.
The access hole is closed with a tiny filling, and a custom crown is created to cover all visible portions of the treated tooth. Smiles in Springfield has in-house CERECⓇ technology to craft beautiful and durable dental crowns, so you might receive your final restoration the same day as your root canal treatment.
There was a time when a root canal was one of the most dreaded dental procedures. Today, however, advancements in dental technology have led to root canal therapy that is safe, painless, and effective.
Most men and women who need a root canal have begun to experience significant dental pain as a result of infected pulp. A root canal ends that pain and protects your tooth from further damage.
Don’t live with dental pain when safe and effective treatments can help. Call Smiles in Springfield today to book a visit, or try the easy online booking tool.
