At Denton Family Smiles, Sleep & TMJ, we understand that tooth pain can disrupt your life.
Serving the Denton, TX community, our highly patient-oriented practice is built on providing compassionate, honest dentistry. If you are suffering from a severely infected tooth, our goal is to eliminate your pain and preserve your natural smile. Through gentle, effective root canal treatment, we can save a compromised tooth from extraction and restore your oral health completely.
What Is A Root Canal?
A root canal is a highly effective endodontic procedure used to treat the infected or inflamed pulp deep inside a tooth. This pulp contains delicate nerves and blood vessels. When deep decay, repeated dental procedures, or a cracked tooth allow bacteria to reach this inner chamber, it causes a painful infection. A root canal carefully removes this infected tissue, stops the pain, and seals the tooth to prevent bacteria from returning.
Signs You May Need Treatment
A tooth infection rarely resolves on its own. The longer it is left untreated, the more severe it becomes. Contact us immediately if you experience any of these warning signs:
- Severe toothache: Throbbing pain that worsens when chewing or lying down.
- Extreme sensitivity: A lingering, painful reaction to hot or cold temperatures.
- Swollen gums: Puffy, tender gums or a small, pimple-like bump near the affected tooth.
- Discoloration: A tooth that suddenly turns dark or grayish, indicating nerve death.
Saving Your Natural Tooth
Extracting a painful tooth might seem like the easiest fix, but losing a tooth triggers a cascade of complex dental issues, including jawbone loss and shifting teeth. We believe in preserving your natural smile whenever possible. Our doctor has extensive clinical experience performing root canals and complex extractions. By saving the structural root of your tooth through endodontic therapy, we maintain your jawbone health and eliminate the need for costly replacements like implants.
The Treatment Process
1. Advanced Diagnostics
We utilize our advanced technology, including 3D CBCT scans, to map the intricate nerve pathways of your tooth, ensuring precise and thorough treatment.
2. Clearing The Infection
After ensuring you are fully numb, we make a small opening in the crown of the tooth and use specialized instruments to carefully remove the infected pulp and bacteria from the root canals.
3. Sanitizing & Sealing
The empty canals are thoroughly cleaned, sanitized, and filled with a biocompatible material called gutta-percha. We then seal the opening to prevent future infection.
Comfort During Treatment
Many people fear root canals, but the truth is the procedure relieves pain rather than causing it. Guided by our warm, gentle approach, we go above and beyond to ensure your experience is entirely peaceful. We never begin until your tooth is completely numb. If you feel anxious, we proudly offer safe nitrous oxide (laughing gas) to help you deeply relax while we quickly and comfortably restore your health.
Recovery & Healing
Because the infected nerve is removed, the severe pain you were experiencing will disappear immediately. It is completely normal to experience mild soreness or jaw tenderness for a few days following the procedure, simply from holding your mouth open. This minor discomfort is easily managed with over-the-counter pain medication. Most patients feel perfectly fine to return to their normal daily activities or go back to work the very next day.
Protecting Your Restored Tooth
While a root canal successfully saves the tooth structure, the tooth no longer has a living blood supply and can become brittle over time. To protect it from cracking under the daily forces of chewing, we highly recommend covering it with a custom dental crown. Thanks to our in-office milling technology, we can design, mill, and place a beautiful, permanent same-day ceramic crown immediately after your root canal.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. With modern anesthetics, the procedure is virtually painless and feels very similar to having a standard cavity filled. The root canal actually eliminates the severe pain caused by the infection!
Depending on the tooth's location and the number of root canals it has, the procedure typically takes between one and two hours to complete.
Most dental insurance plans provide coverage for root canal therapy because it is a necessary procedure to save a natural tooth. We will transparently explain all costs and flexible financial options before beginning treatment.