Your Root Canal Treatment at Graceville Dental

Retain your natural tooth and avoid extraction

Having a root canal treatment, or endodontic treatment, addresses problems with a tooth’s soft core or ‘dental pulp’. Root canal treatment can be a daunting thought, but the procedure doesn’t have to be a scary experience, and it’s virtually painless.

When a tooth’s nerve becomes infected, it can cause an abscess around the base of your tooth, leading to pain and swelling. If the abscess is left untreated, infection can damage the bone surrounding the root.

Infection is often the result of untreated cracked teeth, a deep cavity, gum disease, trauma to the mouth or dental wear and/or erosion which has been left untreated. We highly recommend you make an appointment to visit us at the first sign of any pain or swelling to any of your teeth.

Our dentist will fully assess the situation before commencing any treatment. Where an infection is present, in some cases, we will prescribe antibiotics to settle the infection before treatment can commence.

If the tooth has an abscess, it may require either extraction or a root canal treatment – you will be given both options. If you decide on root canal treatment, we will do everything possible to retain your natural tooth.

Thanks to the friendly approach of our skilled, experienced dentists who work with modern anaesthetics, you can have an efficient, root canal treatment and be pain-free in no time at all.

Your root canal treatment will be done over two appointments of around one hour each. At the first appointment, under local anaesthetic, we will remove the inflamed or infected pulp/nerve. Each root canal is cleaned, enlarged and shaped. We will then dress the tooth with an antibiotic and anti-inflammatory dressing and a temporary filling, then send you home.

At your second visit, around two/three weeks later, to prevent further infection, the root canals are filled and the pulp chamber is sealed. We often recommend doing a crown further down the track, as a dead tooth is weaker and can be prone to breaking. You may sometimes experience a mild ache after the visit, which Nurofen or Panadol should relieve. If your tooth is sore for longer than 2-3 days, please call us.

The benefit and aim of root canal treatment is to firstly relieve pain and infection in the mouth, then to save a tooth which would otherwise be extracted. The treatment can also prevent infection of neighbouring teeth, prevent potential degeneration of the jawbone and boost oral and overall health.