What is involved in a root canal?

Root canals in Boston are relatively common dental procedures that are used to save a tooth from having to be extracted. Although the procedure is somewhat more complicated and time consuming it is rarely more painful than getting a filling. Although there are complications they rarely happen, the majority of patients recover quickly with no adverse affects; the tooth that was subjected to the root canal usually stays with the patient for life.

Prior to the start of the root canal procedure the dentist will take X-Rays of the affected tooth. The X-Rays are what allows the dentist to determine the shape of the tooth root and the depth. The X-Rays often will help the dentist to get an idea of whether the infection has spread to other areas of the gum and jaw bone, if this turns out to be the case it normally indicates the need for additional treatment.

The dentist injects an anesthetic into the patient’s gums that surround the site, after a few minutes the area is numb and the dentist can commence with the procedure. Roots canals in Boston require that all the tooth pulp to be extracted. The tooth pulp is in the center of the tooth and it includes the nerves. Once this material has been removed a hollow chamber is left, this chamber is the root canal.

To extract the pulp the dentist drills a small hole in the tooth. If the tooth is a molar and is not a tooth that is normally visible the hole can be drilled on the upper surface. If the root canal procedure is going to take place on a front tooth, the entry hole is drilled on the back side of the tooth. Once the entry point has been established, using a series of small files, the dentist slowly extracts the pulp.

The procedure uses services of files; the first one used is quite small. As the work progresses the dentist uses progressively larger files. During the procedure the dentist constantly flushes the site with water to help in removing the pulp.

Once the dentist is satisfied that the chamber has been prepared properly, the next step is to fill the hole. In some cases there may be a slight waiting period, this is especially true if there was infection as this needs to be treated first and eliminated. If this is the case the canal is treated with an antibiotic. Once root canals in Boston are ready to be capped over the canal is filled with a rubbery compound, this in turn is covered with a crown or filling.

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