What Is A Root Canal?
Dr. Neelima Samineni is a Dentist practicing in Tomball, TX. Dr. Samineni specializes in preventing, diagnosing, and treating diseases and conditions associated with the mouth and overall dental health. Dentists are trained to carry out such treatment as professional cleaning, restorative, prosthodontic, and endodontic... more
A root canal is a procedure to get rid of an infection and save your tooth rather than pulling it. People have a perception that they are painful, but with the right anesthesia and technique, you absolutely won't feel a thing during the procedure. Most people report it as the same feeling as getting a filling placed.
When your tooth has a big cavity that cannot be fixed by a filling or anything else and the infection has gotten to the nerve of the tooth. The nerve is present in the canal which lies in the center of the tooth where you feel the sensations of hot, cold, or pain. Your teeth have one canal to five canals depending on the anatomy of each individual tooth.
It may get to a point that the dentist needs to access the nerve, remove the nerve, clean and disinfect the canal that contains the nerve and get rid of the infection, seal and then build the tooth with a filling material and place a crown in order to avoid fracture of the tooth.
Without the root canal procedure, the tissue surrounding the tooth will become infected and abscesses may form. Root canals are very successful and can serve for many years if the tooth is completely sealed with a crown after the procedure and maintaining the restoration (crown) with good oral hygiene.
