Brushing twice a day, flossing, and visiting your dentist for exams each year is essential for your oral health. Unfortunately, you still may require involved dental treatments even after following your dentist’s recommendations for healthy teeth and gums. Considering millions of people undergo a root canal treatment, learning when this common procedure is necessary is smart.

Broken Tooth

A chipped, broken tooth not only affects the appeal of your smile, but it can also cause damage to your underlying nerves. If the tooth is hit with severe trauma, it can also sever the nerve completely. This kills the nerve, decreasing your chances of successful tooth repair.

A root canal may be able to repair the damage to the nerve, reconnecting it to the existing tooth. After saving the damaged nerve, your dentist can bond the surface enamel to restore the broken tooth.

Abscess

An abscess develops when an infection develops in the tooth pulp and spreads to its roots. An abscessed tooth is painful, but very serious. If this infection is left untreated, it may spread to the bone, resulting in serious complications.

Antibiotics will be necessary to treat the infection, but your dentist will also perform a root canal treatment to remove bacteria and dead tissue from the tooth pulp and roots.

Cavity

Cavities are also common reasons to undergo a root canal. Since cavities form over time, they can cause bacteria to spread deep into the tooth pulp, decaying the tooth and infecting the pulp and roots. If you have a deep cavity, you may experience tooth sensitivity, pain in and around the mouth, head, and jaw, and tender, bleeding gums.

The best option for repairing deep cavities is to remove the decay by cleaning out the root canals. In many cases, removal of the damaged nerve will also be necessary.

A root canal treatment may be common, but it deserves serious thought and consideration. Contact our caring team at Artistic Smiles to learn if this procedure will benefit you and your dental health.