When a tooth begins to hurt or feel sensitive when you eat, and the pain doesn’t pass after a day or two, this could mean an infection. To avoid tooth loss and stop discomfort, you need endodontic treatment to repair and restore the infected tooth. At your Wheaton, IL, dental office, we can keep your smile whole with root canal therapy!
The Warning Signs (and Causes) of Infection
As we mentioned above, you could experience tooth sensitivity and toothaches that last for more than a day or two, as well as pain when you bite down or chew, aches in the jaw and face, swelling, or even a discharge for the tooth itself. The infection occurs when harmful bacteria make contact with the inner pulp, your tooth’s nerve center. The exposure could happen due to an untreated cavity or even damage to the tooth, such as a sports injury or teeth grinding. As part of your treatment, we will assess the cause of your infection and then plan the root canal in detail, so you can enjoy relief and maintain a full smile!
Starting Your Treatment
To begin, our team will carefully examine your smile with digital x-rays, obtaining high-definition images instantly on a chairside monitor and using 90% less radiation. No bitewings either! The images allow us to pinpoint the position of the infection and assess the severity, so we can plan treatment in detail. We want to ensure you feel comfortable and relaxed, even if you have special needs or dental anxiety. Along with a local anesthetic to the area being treated, we can offer sedation to help you enter a deep state of calm and relaxation, often with little to no memory of the procedure afterward.
The Root Canal Procedure
When you are properly prepared, our team will open the tooth to remove the infected tissue from within, and then we will clean the interior portion of the tooth and the root canals themselves. The next step in the root canal is to add a restorative filling known as gutta percha, and finally, cap the tooth with a custom crown. The completed dental restoration will look natural and protect your tooth from injury or further decay/infection, and ensures a balanced bite too. Moving forward, you can help lower your risk of cavities and infected teeth with daily brushing and flossing, a healthy diet, and visits for a checkup and cleaning every six months.
Talk To Your Wheaton, IL Dentist About Endodontic Treatments
With root canal therapy, our team can treat infected teeth and keep your smile comfortable and whole. If you would like to find out more about our endodontics treatments, call Amber Dental in Wheaton, IL today at (630) 665-5555.
