The root canal has long endured a bad reputation among dental patients. Modern dentistry has proven the painful root canal treatment to be a myth with sedation dentistry and conservative techniques. A root canal at our Waco dental office may feel as comfortable as a simple filling. With this in mind, our Waco dentist, Dr. Corbet Locke, will explain some other little known information about root canal treatments.
Root Canal Treatments Remove Damaged Nerve Tissue
One of the reasons root canals do not live up to the negative hype is because the treatment actually removes damaged nerve tissues. Untreated tooth decay will deteriorate the hard outer layer of your tooth and continue to travel deeper into the tooth, infecting your dental pulp. The pulp center holds all of the tooth’s nerves, blood vessels, and living tissue.
Once infection reaches the nerve center, your teeth will send pain signals to your brain, causing toothache. During a root canal treatment, Dr. Locke will remove the bacteria and diseased nerves. Without damaged nerves inside your tooth, the tooth will no longer send pain signals to your brain, alleviating toothache.
Your Root Canals Can Be Oddly Shaped
Your root canals are the channels which travel from your jaw to your dental pulp through the tooth roots. Different sized teeth have different numbers of root canals and even different shapes. Since removing infection is the main priority for root canal treatment, cleaning every nook and cranny of your root canals is vital to successful treatment.
Root canal treatment can be more challenging with oddly shaped root canals and accessory canals, tiny branches off of the main canal. However, our Waco dentist is experienced in this endodontic procedure and uses digital dental X-rays to help develop his treatment plan and determine the best way to conservatively remove tooth infection.
Root Canal Treatment in Waco
For more information about root canal treatments and other restorative dentistry services, contact our Waco dental office. You can schedule an appointment with our Waco family dentist, Dr. Corbet Locke, by calling 254-776-4888.