Sometimes, as much as we care for our teeth and brush and floss daily, the root of a tooth can become infected. They can be painful and irritating because of the nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissues that are engaged at the root of a tooth. This is also why it’s important to take care of a root canal early on.

Our dentists use our x-ray on hand to take an image of the tooth to inspect the root. Once identified as an infection in the root of the tooth, we will set up an appointment as early as possible to treat the infection.

If you are coming in for a root canal treatment, this constitutes minor oral surgery as an endodontic treatment. Your dentist will numb the area, then apply a dental dam to isolate the tooth. The dentist makes an opening at the top of the tooth and cleans out the centre of the tooth down to the root. All of the infection is removed. Then the dentist will install a temporary crown, which will later need to be replaced with a permanent crown when the tooth has healed properly.