Root Canal Treatment in Stuart

Our primary goal is to save your natural teeth whenever possible. Endodontics is the treatment of the pulp and surrounding tissues of a tooth. When root canal therapy is performed the pulp chamber of the tooth is removed and then filled with a suitable filling material. Root canals are most often necessary when decay has reached the nerve of the tooth or the tooth has become infected.

Root canal treatment usually involves one or more dental visits. The following necessary steps will be performed:

• First, your tooth is numbed with local anesthetic for your comfort. A thin sheet of rubber latex is placed over the tooth to keep it dry. An opening is made through the crown of the tooth to access the pulp chamber.
• The tooth’s nerve (pulp) is removed from the pulp chamber and root canal (the space inside the root). Each root canal is cleaned and shaped so it can be filled in.
• Often medicine is placed in the pulp chamber and root canal to help get rid of bacteria.
• The root canals are filled with a rubber-like material (gutta percha) to seal them.
• If the procedure is performed by an endodontist, a temporary filling is then placed into the tooth to prevent contamination of the root canals. Then, within a week or two at the most, you will return to Dr. Tyler for removal of the temporary filling and restoration of the tooth with a crown or a tooth-colored filling to strengthen it and improve the way it looks.
• If the procedure is performed by Dr. Tyler, restoration will occur often immediately after the root canals are filled/sealed.
• You may be given antibiotics if the infection has spread beyond the end of the root(s). If prescribed, use it only as directed.