Root canal Treatments (RCT) - Nerve Filling

Possibly one of the most feared and widely misunderstood procedures in all of dentistry. Root Canal Therapy is usually not painful.

Root canal therapy helps save badly decayed teeth and helps relieve the pain. Often Root Canal Therapy is the only alternative to extracting a tooth.
During the root canal filling, we numb the tooth with local anesthesia and remove all diseased tissues inside the tooth and fill the root canal with medicated material. RCT can be usually done in one or more visits but depends on the patient. An uncomplicated root canal treatment often can be completed in one visit. Some teeth may be more difficult to treat because of where they are situated in the mouth and some teeth can also have more roots than other teeth. Treating a tooth with many roots takes longer and some teeth have curved root canals that are difficult to find. If you have an infection prior to an RCT, you will be required to visit the dentist several times so that the dentist can make sure that the infection is gone.

Once the RCT is finished, you will need to see whether you need to have a crown or filling placed on the tooth. You are likely to receive a crown if the tooth is discoloured or if it is used mainly for chewing. The purpose of the crown is to prevent the tooth from breaking in the future.