ROOT CANAL TREATMENT – BOERNE, TX

Do I Need Root Canal Treatment?

If you’re currently experiencing any of the following, you might need a root canal:

• Severe & persistent pain in a tooth
• Lingering sensitivity to hot or cold (lasts for 20 seconds or longer)
• Pain when biting
• Red, tender, & swollen gums near a tooth
• Tooth that is noticeably discolored & gray/dark
• A bump on the gums near the tender tooth
• A bad toothache has suddenly stopped (this means the nerve has died)

The Root Canal Process

If we examine your hurting tooth and determine that the problem is being caused by damaged dental pulp, we will recommend you undergo root canal treatment. The procedure will involve these basic steps:

• Your tooth and the surrounding area will be numbed with local anesthetic
• A small hole will be placed into the enamel
• The pulp will be removed
• The interior of the tooth will be cleaned and filled
• At a follow-up appointment, the tooth will be topped with a more permanent dental crown

Thanks to the anesthetic, most patients report feeling practically nothing during the treatment! Many compared it to having a small filling placed, which is to say not uncomfortable at all. The pain that is typically associated with root canal treatment comes from the toothaches it fixes, not the procedure itself!

Benefits of Getting a Root Canal

There are several reasons why a root canal is the best method of treatment compared to other options:

• It quickly stops the worst toothaches
• Saves your tooth from being extracted
• More affordable than replacing a tooth
• Protects the surrounding teeth, gums, and bone from infection
• Often covered by insurance

Basically, root canal treatment is a more conservative method of repairing damaged teeth versus removing and replacing them, and it’s also a lot faster.