Root Canal Therapy
Pickfair Family Dental is one of the GTA’s leading providers of root canal therapy. Many years ago, the only way to deal with damaged teeth was to extract the entire tooth. But new advances in dentistry have allowed us to save teeth.
Non-surgical Root canal therapy, also known as endodontics, is the process of removing damaged pulp. Dental pulp is the tooth’s blood and nerve supply. It contains all the vessels and connective tissue that keep the tooth healthy. When this pulp becomes inflamed, an infection will build up inside the tooth.
Dental pulp can become irritated, inflamed or infected for a number of reasons. They include but are not limited to deep-rooted decay and trauma to the face. If left untreated, this infection can spread -- causing severe pain and dental disease.
What to expect during your Root Canal Treatment?
Non-surgical Root canal therapy may seem overwhelming, but it is one of the most effective treatments available today. At Pickfair Family Dental, we can usually complete the procedure in one appointment.
Here are the steps involved during root canal surgery:
- X-rays are taken to observe the shape of the root, and determine if there is any infection in the surrounding bones
- Local anesthesia is used to numb the area around the tooth
- A rubber dam is placed around the tooth to keep the area dry from saliva during treatment
- An access hole is drilled through the tooth, so the pulp and decayed nerve tissue can be removed
- Thin files are placed in the access hole to clean and shape the walls of the root canal
- A radiograph is taken to verify the canals are cleaned and shaped to the apex. ,
- Once everything is verified the canals are cleaned to the end, it’s sealed and filled using a paste and rubbercompound called ‘gutta percha’
Following a non-surgical root canal therapy, further restoration of the tooth may be required. Because the tooth had most likely suffered severe decay, a crown or filling is often necessary to protect it and prevent future breakage and leakage. Our team will discuss additional dental work should you need it following endodontic therapy.
- Ongoing pain, even after a cleaning
- Tooth is painful to the touch
- Severe sensitivity to hot and cold
- Sudden discolouration, especially in one tooth
- Abnormal swelling or drainage around a specific tooth