Endodontics - Root Canal Treatment

Chicago, IL

Most people tend to ignore minute dental issues such as cavities, toothaches, cracks, or chips in their teeth. However, as tiny as they are, these can cause serious discomfort and serious dental health issues if left untreated. Untreated tooth decay, cracks, and chips can end up spreading deep into the pulp of your tooth and infect it. When this happens, you will experience severely painful toothaches which will go on relentlessly for days, giving you painful, sleepless nights, prevent you from chewing your food, and impose a wide range of limitations on your palate. Our professionals here at Cameo Dental Specialists can help you by not only soothing this pain, but completely extracting it from its roots, with the help of an endodontic treatment called root canal therapy. Endodontic treatment is dental care for the inside portion of the tooth. This means that disease has reached the inner portion, or pulp, of the tooth. Our team at Cameo Dental Specialists can remove the disease and restore the tooth through endodontic treatment.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ENDODONTIC PROCEDURES:

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LEAVE TOOTH DECAY UNTREATED?

If left unchecked for three to six months, the bacteria in tooth decay is able to dig its way through the enamel into the pulp of your tooth, causing inflammation in it. Not seeking help from a dentist when that happens will aggravate your tooth’s condition, and it may spread further to the surrounding teeth. Such decay is not only painful, you may even end up losing the tooth, leading to tooth restoration needs such as crowns, bridges, or dental implants. However, a timely root canal can save your tooth and completely rid you of the pain that often comes with the decay.

DO YOU NEED ROOT CANAL THERAPY?

A good indication that you might be needing root canal therapy is if you have been experiencing jarring toothaches which last for a number of days, or if you have active tooth decay. Some other signs which indicate that you need root canal therapy include the infected tooth changing its color, sensitivity, the tooth feeling loose and painful when you touch it, or swelling in the gums around the infected tooth. You should immediately pay us a visit if you have been experiencing any of these symptoms, and our professionals can help relieve your pain and irritation right away.

HOW WILL WE CARRY OUT ROOT CANAL THERAPY?

Root canal therapy procedures are nothing but slightly more complex tooth fillings. What we essentially do is that we make a small hole in the infected tooth. We will remove the pulp and the roots to leave behind empty root and pulp chambers. These chambers are then cleaned and disinfected to eliminate any infected remnants and reshaped into their original form. After this, the empty chambers are filled and sealed. Once this simple procedure is completed, you will be instructed on the routine that you will need to practice for a few days following the treatment.

Healing a decayed tooth is much simpler than you might think, and the procedure is relatively straightforward, so you need not worry about getting root canal therapy at all. We can relieve you of the pain and discomfort by offering you different sedation options depending on your individual case.

ROOT CANAL TREATMENT

Root canal treatment is a procedure to treat the inside of a tooth. A tooth is living, and to be so it needs a constant supply of blood and functioning nerves to relay messages. The part of the tooth that contains tissue, blood vessels and nerves is called the pulp. If the pulp becomes infected, root canal treatment can be used to clean bacteria out of the tooth, and prevent further decay within the mouth.

Cameo Dental Specialists wants to accommodate your dentistry needs, and can promise a treatment plan for your mouth that suits your requirements. Root canal treatment is nothing to be afraid of, breaking down the procedure can make it less scary.

PROCEDURE

A diagnosis is necessary before the dentist can decide upon the correct endodontic treatment. When a patient complains of a toothache and swelling, our dentist will be able to look for indications of tooth decay that may need root canal treatment. Physical discoloration and pus buildups are the most obvious, physical symptoms of needing root canal treatment. The dentist will use an x-ray and the pressing of a cold stimulus onto the tooth, to see if it causes sensitivity, to detect the need for root canal treatment.

Depending on the severity of the tooth decay, the root canal treatment will take one to two appointments that last one to two hours each. Our dentist will first prepare the area around the tooth that will have root canal treatment. The area will be thoroughly cleaned and a rubber dam will be placed, to prevent other fluids in the mouth from invading the area, such as saliva.

A small incision will be made into the top of the tooth, to allow our dentist to access the pulp. The infected pump will be removed, to prevent the further spreading of the infection. Once this is removed, our dentist will flush the inside of the tooth with an antibacterial solution, to ensure no bacteria remain inside. To fill in the inside of the tooth, a rubbery material, gutta percha, will be used for structural reasons.

Once the dentist has finished the root canal treatment, we will place a temporary crown on top. This is to be used until a dental lab has made a custom fit crown for your tooth, designed from a mold of your mouth.

CARE

For the next couple of days, pain and inflammation will be felt around the tooth that received root canal treatment. Over-the-counter pain medication can help reduce the pain. If pain is persistent, contact us.

While the causes of root canal treatment vary, the maintenance of good oral health will reduce the risk of needing root canal treatment. Brushing your teeth twice a day, for two minutes, will help reduce the amount of plaque build-up in the mouth.

Keeping to your regular dental appointments will also help us monitor your oral condition and advise you where necessary. Cameo Dental Specialists wants to help with your next procedure. If you have been experiencing any of the symptoms of tooth decay, or you are ready to schedule your routine dental cleaning and checkup, please give our professionals at Cameo Dental Specialists a call at (630) 332-8717 today.