There are several situations in which the tooth’s nerve cannot repair itself. Examples include persistent or spontaneous sensitivity, swelling, throbbing or aching, decay that is deep and extends into the nerve, or trauma that injures the nerve tissue.
At this point, the only way to save the tooth is to treat it with root canal therapy. This process involves cleaning and disinfecting the tubes within the tooth (“canals”) and then placing a restorative material to seal these canals so that bacteria cannot re-enter.
If you anticipate that a root canal treatment will be a painful experience, then you have been misled. At Westmount Dental, with the effective use of anesthesia and modern techniques, most root canal treatments can be completed in one visit, often within an hour.
