While preventive dentistry and early treatment for dental decay at Bradley Dental Center are often adequate to maintain healthy teeth, severe tooth pain may require an endodontic specialist.
A root canal is a tooth-saving procedure performed on more than 15 million teeth every year. Our root canal specialist, Dr. Mark Dill, has extensive experience in endodontics and is known for delivering virtually painless root canals in Cleveland, TN.
In order to pinpoint the problem, we’ll take a digital X-ray, perform an oral exam, and check gum sensitivity by gently massaging the area over the suspected tooth root. A percussion test involves biting down to replicate pain and help identify the problem tooth, while pulp vitality is tested with electrical or thermal methods.
During a root canal at Bradley Dental Center, an opening is made in the crown of your tooth. Very small instruments are used to clean the pulp from the chamber and root canals, and then the tooth is shaped to facilitate filling it.
The root canals are filled with a biocompatible, rubber-like material called gutta-percha. The gutta-percha is placed with an adhesive cement to ensure complete sealing of the root canals.
In most cases, a temporary filling is placed to close the opening. Dr. Dill removes the temporary filling before restoring the tooth.
A tooth that has undergone root canal treatment in Cleveland, TN, is brittle and prone to fracture if it’s not properly protected. Once your tooth heals, a dental crown is typically required.
If you have a cracked tooth, a failing filling, or an untreated cavity, the pulp in the tooth can become exposed. When the enamel is damaged, food particles and bacteria can infect and irritate the pulp, causing pulpitis.
The infection can compromise your tooth’s structural integrity, necessitating extraction to prevent a profound impact on oral and general health. If left untreated, an abscess can trigger intense pain and swelling and lead to a dangerous systemic infection.
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