Endodontic Treatment for Tooth Decay
Tooth decay – the driving force behind cavity development – begins when oral bacteria weaken your tooth enamel and infect the tooth’s main structure. When addressed early enough, it can be alleviated by treating the cavity with a tooth-colored filling. However, in severe cases, the decay can reach the pulp chamber at the center of a tooth, where the nerves and blood vessels travel through the tooth’s root canal to your jawbone. To alleviate the pain and stop the infection from growing worse, we may recommend root canal (endodontic) treatment to remove the decay from your tooth’s inner structure.
How tooth decay reaches your root canal
There are several ways in which a tooth can become so decayed that it requires root canal treatment. For example, if you neglect to treat a cavity in time, then the decay in your tooth can become more severe by the time you finally do seek treatment. In some cases, an improperly placed or cared-for tooth filling may fail, allowing oral bacteria to re-infect the cavity and the tooth’s pulp. A tooth that has fractured severely enough may also have its pulp directly exposed to oral bacteria, leading to internal infection.
What endodontic treatment means
Like a tooth filling procedure, root canal therapy involves carefully removing harmful oral bacteria and infected tissues from your tooth. However, the procedure requires carefully accessing and cleaning the tooth’s pulp and the root canal connected to it, rather than just a cavity in your tooth’s crown. Once the procedure is completed, you’ll experience a variety of benefits, including:
- The alleviation of your severe tooth pain
- The restored function of your tooth
- The avoidance of having to extract the tooth
- And more
Find relief from severe tooth decay
When tooth decay reaches a tooth’s pulp and root canal, the pain and danger to the tooth can become extreme. To learn more about saving your tooth with root canal therapy, schedule a consultation by calling Pacific Hills Dental in Omaha, NE, today at (402)330-2243.We proudly serve patients who live Omaha, Papillion, Elkhorn, La Vista, and Millard, and all surrounding communities.