Frequently, patients who undergo a root canal at our office end up saying, “well that wasn’t so bad” on the way out the door or “that wasn’t much different from a filling!”
Root canal therapy is used in cases of significant decay. Patients choose this option for treatment in order to save a tooth from being extracted. Essentially, it is a procedure wherein the pulp is cleaned out, and the space disinfected and then filled.
Teeth have roots that anchor them to the jawbone. A root canal is the space within the root of a tooth. At the center of a tooth is a hollow area that houses soft tissues, such as the nerve, blood vessels and connective tissue. This hollow area contains a relatively wide space in the coronal portion of the tooth called the pulp chamber. These canals run through the center of the roots like pencil lead through the length of a pencil. The pulp receives nutrition through the blood vessels and sensory nerves carry signals back to the brain.