Each year in the United States, more than 15 million root canal procedures are performed, which boils down to about 41,000 each day. What all of these patients have in common is that they all benefited greatly from this quick-and-easy treatment.
As dental experts, the providers here at Willow Glen Dental Specialists understand better than most that you have everything to gain from undergoing a root canal procedure. On the flip side, you have much to lose if you avoid this treatment.
To illustrate this point, we outline three incredibly important reasons why you should consider your root canal procedure an important part of your dental and overall health.
A root canal procedure is designed to treat an infection deep inside your tooth. This infection sets up in your pulp, which is a gel-like material in the innermost part of your tooth that includes nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissues.
If bacteria make their way through cracks or cavities in your teeth and gain access to your pulp, they can create a very painful infection since your pulp contains nerves.
This pain can be hard to ignore and flares with pressure on the affected tooth, which can make eating challenging and uncomfortable.
With a root canal treatment, we can relieve this pain and discomfort in about an hour. And you won’t feel any pain during your root canal procedure, as we use a local anesthetic.
The numbers surrounding tooth loss in the United States are nothing short of staggering — 178 million people are missing at least one tooth. While gum disease and tooth decay are the primary drivers of tooth loss, a root canal infection is an offshoot of these problems.
Our goal when we perform a root canal procedure is to save your tooth. To do this, we access and remove all your infected pulp. Once we clear away the pulp, we rinse the area with an antibiotic to make sure we kill all of the bacteria. Then, we fill the area with gutta-percha, which is a rubber-like substance that will prevent bacteria from gaining access again.
After we’re done, we fill in our access point, and then we will likely cap your tooth with a crown.
The end result is that we preserve your tooth with a root canal procedure, saving you from the time and expense of finding a tooth replacement.
The third reason why you shouldn’t avoid a root canal procedure is that we’re dealing with an infection, and infections can spread.
As we outlined above, during a root canal procedure we clear away all of the infectious material before it can do irreparable damage to your tooth. This treatment also prevents the infection from spreading to your jaw, face, and even into your bloodstream.
As you can see, there are only upsides to undergoing a root canal procedure (and plenty of downsides if you don’t).
If you have more questions about root canal procedures or you’d like to schedule one, please contact our office in San Jose, California, by calling 408-478-9081. Or, if you prefer, you can book an appointment with us online.
