Dr Errol Allison DDS

Services > Root Canals
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Root Canal Therapy

Root canal therapy is needed when the nerve of a tooth is affected by decay or infection. 

In order to save the tooth: the pulp, nerves, bacteria and any decay are removed and the resulting space is filled with special, medicated, dental materials, which restore the tooth to its full function.

Having a root canal done on a tooth is the treatment of choice to save a tooth that otherwise would die and have to be removed.  Many patients believe that removing a tooth that has problems is the best solution.  However, what they do not realize is that extracting a tooth will ultimately be more costly and cause significant problems for adjacent teeth.

Root canal treatment is highly successful and usually lasts a lifetime; although on occasion, a tooth will have to be retreated due to new infections.

Signs and symptoms for possible root canal therapy:
  • Abscess on the gums
  • Sensitivity to hot and cold
  • Severe toothache
  • Sometimes no symptoms are present
  • Swelling and/or tenderness
  • Reasons for root canal therapy:
  • Decay has reached the pulp [living tissue inside the tooth]
  • Infection or abscess have developed inside the tooth or at the root tip
  • Injury or trauma to the tooth

On occasion, a tooth will have to be retreated due to new infections.