Save Your Tooth With Root Canal

It’s easy to take your teeth for granted. But, even though they should last a lifetime, trauma, tooth decay, and gum disease can easily put them at risk. 

When it comes to treating tooth problems, the primary goal is always focused on saving your natural tooth. That’s because a tooth and its root play an essential role in your oral health. If you’re dealing with an infection that’s putting your tooth at risk, a root canal can help.

At GEMS Dental in Houston, Texas, Dr. George Saliba offers an extensive suite of services that tackle both dental health and cosmetic concerns. While getting a root canal isn’t as sexy as whitening your teeth, we promise the results will give you something to smile about.

Here’s how a root canal can preserve your tooth and why that matters.

The dangers of a tooth infection

Each of your teeth has a canal inside filled with pulp. This soft tissue contains nerves, blood vessels, and crucial connective tissues. When tooth decay and harmful bacteria manage to penetrate this area, they can wreak havoc on the tissues inside, usually causing a very painful infection. If left unchecked, these bacteria can slowly eat away at the internal structures, which threatens the health of your entire tooth, down to its roots.

The obvious threat with infection is the risk of it spreading. However, the potential side effects of losing a tooth are a big concern as well. 

When you lose a tooth, the problem is far more than cosmetic because you also lose the tooth roots. These roots are held firmly in place by bone that’s constantly regenerating itself to keep your tooth stable. If you don’t have a tooth anymore, your body registers the inactivity and stops renewing bone in the area. As a result, you can experience bone deterioration, and your neighboring teeth can start to shift out of place.

Over time, as your jawbone collapses inward where the tooth once was, this bone loss can also lead to changes in your outward appearance.

In other words, having an infection inside your tooth can quickly snowball, leading to fairly major problems unless we intervene.

How a root canal can help

A root canal is the best and simplest way to save your tooth. After Dr. Saliba makes you comfortable with a local anesthetic, he drills a small hole to the canal so that he can clear out the infected pulp before thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting the canal. Then, Dr. Saliba fills in the area with gutta percha — a rubber-like compound — designed to prevent bacteria from making their way inside the tooth again.

Once Dr. Saliba finishes, he also protects your tooth with a filling or crown, depending on how much tooth you have remaining to support a restoration. You shouldn’t experience any pain or discomfort during your root canal, but Dr. Saliba also offers sedation dentistry options if you are fearful or anxious about undergoing dental procedures.

In the end, there are two primary benefits of having a root canal. First, Dr. Saliba relieves your pain by eliminating the infection. And, second, he saves your tooth and protects you from the associated side effects of having a missing tooth.

If you think you need a root canal, book an appointment online or over the phone with Dr. Saliba at GEMS Dental today.