What is a root canal?

A root canal is a form of treatment meant to save an infected, painful, or injured tooth. When your tooth encounters decay or trauma, the pulp may become infected with bacteria. A root canal will remove the infected pulp from inside the tooth. The tooth stays, the roots of the tooth stay, only the defective pulp is removed.

What is pulp?

Pulp is the soft tissue inside the tooth that contains blood vessels and nerves. When a pulp is diseased or injured and is unable to heal itself, it can become extremely painful. The most common causes of dental pain are deep tooth decay, cracked or broken teeth, defective fillings, or serious injury. All of these can injure the pulp and lead to infection and an abscess.

Why should I have a root canal versus pulling the tooth?

While removing a tooth may seem like a simple solution to tooth pain, removal frequently creates other, more costly problems. If a tooth is removed and not replaced, the teeth around it may shift from their normal position. This shift in position can be uncomfortable making biting and chewing difficult. Ultimately, other teeth can be lost just because one was removed.

Advances in root canal treatment means these procedures can be done comfortably with little to no pain. And you can save your natural tooth! You are almost always better off with your natural tooth than with artificial replacements. There is nothing that feels, looks, or functions like what nature gave you.