Some of the Most Commonly Asked Questions about Root Canal Therapy, updated weekly.

Although there is no “home remedy” for dental pain or toothaches, there are ways to help yourself to alleviate any pain or pressure you may be feeling especially if dental related, contact your Endodontist or dentist to help diagnose and correctly treat symptoms.

Root canal treatment involves treatment of an infection of the root canal system of the tooth. It removes nerve and blood vessels from the tooth to alleviate pain and infection, and renders you the ability to keep a natural tooth in your mouth.

Root canals can be significantly expensive if you do not have DENTAL INSURANCE, however even still we do everything we can to reduce cost for patients without insurance, and those WITH INSURANCE it is quite often a covered procedure as it is considered non-cosmetic and relative essential treatment with alternative being extraction.

Root canal pain can vary from a long range of symptoms. Early signs begin with temperature sensitivity, cold liquids being the primary culprit. It can advance to sharp shooting pain, eventually can wake you up at night and pain upon biting/chewing. Once the nerve dies, the pain can become a dull ache radiating to the side of your ear or radiating to the side of your ear.

The length of a root canal appointment is often dictated by the type of treatment. It is safe to presume the appointment will last about an hour, however after a consultation is performed and a radiograph is taken the doctor can give you a better approximation. Sometimes a root canal can be performed in appointment, and sometimes it can take multiple visits.

An endodontist is a dental specialist. He/she has 2-3 years after dental school in a residency program, training in all aspects of endodontics which includes but is not limited to: root canal therapy, root canal retreatment, dental trauma, endodontic surgery, regenerative endodontics.

Pain from your tooth can often range from mild to severe. Not always, but the severity can often indicate whether a root canal is needed. Vital tooth pain often can be lingering pain to hot or cold, can wake you up at night, and can be spontaneous throughout the day. Often when a nerve has died, and a more severe infection forms, temperature sensitivity disappears and an intermittent dull ache can come and go. More infected cases can often result in swelling and indicate need to see a dentist or endodontist immediately.

Often times a general dentist will refer you to a specialist for your root canal therapy or evaluation. However if you do not have a referral slip, any general search engine can be used. Patients can also go to the following site for the American Association of Endodontists: https://www.aae.org/patients/why-see-an-endodontist/find-my-endodontist/

A dental abscess is an infection that begins to form outside of the roots generally when the nerve has already died or from residual bacteria/re-infection if the tooth already has a root canal. It is an accumulation of pus and granulomatous tissue then can eventually lead to swelling or cyst formation. To treat first consult with a dentist or endodontist to confirm the diagnosis.