ROOT CANAL

A root canal may sound daunting, but did you know that the alternative is a tooth extraction? Getting a root canal is actually a painless process, and when you get one from Dr. Williams, you’re in good hands. He has years of experience with the procedure and gives each patient all of the information they need to make informed dental care choices. If you’re ready to get relief from your root pain, schedule your appointment at Northern Heights Dental in Flagstaff, Arizona today!

Root Canal Q & A

What is a root canal?

A “root canal” is an abbreviated term for root canal therapy or RCT. All of our teeth have internal chambers containing nerves and other living tissues. When bacteria from a cavity make it to the root canal space it can become extremely painful and potentially threatening to your overall health. Our immune system is unable to kill bacteria inside of our teeth, so the bacteria are able to colonize the root canal space and begin trying to infect surrounding bone and soft tissues. This infection creates a bacteremia (bacteria in the blood stream) which spreads inflammation and infection to other parts of the body, this is particularly dangerous for individuals with artificial joints or who have had heart surgery.

Root canal therapy is a procedure where all the bacteria are removed from the canal system of the tooth. Once all the sources of infection have been removed the surrounding tissues can heal and the inflammation can subside.

What happens during a root canal?

During RCT all damaged tooth structure and infectious agents are removed. Traditionally this relied solely on the use of strong chemical agents and mechanical debridement of pulpal tissue. At Northern Heights Dental we use an advanced endodontic laser therapy called SWEEPS. Laser SWEEPS creates a photoacoustic streaming effect that ensures that all bacteria are eliminated even in spaces too small for our mechanical instruments. Adjacent to the normal canal system inside of our teeth there are microscopic dentinal tubules and lateral canal spaces, these spaces all can harbor bacteria after traditional endodontic therapy. Laser SWEEPS delivers a precise concentration of shockwaves that ensure all of these microscopic spaces are debrided and clean.

How will I feel after my root canal therapy?

How you feel immediately following treatment depends on several factors: the extent of the infection, the type of bacteria involved, and the location of the infection. It is not uncommon to still have some residual pain following RCT. This discomfort will dissipate as your body finishes repairing the surrounding damaged tissues and the inflammation ceases. Following RCT Dr Williams will provide you with any necessary prescriptions to eliminate any pain or infections in bone or soft tissue.