Root Canal Treatment at Kingston Upon Thames Dental Clinic

If dental caries are deep enough to reach the pulp, a root canal is required. Your Kingston Upon Thames dentist can diagnose and treat your tooth proficiently. If the root canal is more complicated and occurs in a molar tooth, you may be referred to a root canal specialist (i.e., endodontist). The pulp of your tooth contains a blood supply, nerves, and other types of connective tissues and cells, etc. When bacteria get into this pulpal tissue, the tooth starts dying; resulting in dental pain, an abscess, tooth loosening or tooth loss. Your Kingston Upon Thames dentist will examine your mouth and the involved tooth, take X-rays of your tooth, and perform additional tests to make sure that a root canal is warranted. You dentist or endodontist will then numb your tooth and the surrounding area, and place a rubber dam on the tooth to isolate it from the surround oral environment to make sure that it remains dry and clean. Then your dentist or endodontist will drill an access hole through the top of your tooth into your pulp, so that they can remove the dead pulpal tissue and bacteria, and completely sterilize the pulpal area of your tooth. This is accomplished using special files and drills to remove the pulp and infected dentin layers, and also with chemical solutions. After this is performed and the root canal of the tooth is thoroughly dried and sterilized, a root canal filling material, called “gutta percha,” is then inserted into the root canal(s) to keep bacteria out. Root canal treatment also protects the surrounding teeth from the bacterial infection. Antibiotics may be prescribed to help kill any infection present, and a mild pain reliever may be required for a day or two. Later on, a dental crown will be required on the tooth to restore it properly and to keep it strong.