Endodontics (Canal Treatment)
Endodontics is the diagnosis and treatment of toothache. It generally includes root canal treatment or apical surgery.
Patients usually present to the clinic with pain or infection. Some patients are very anxious, but the treatment itself is usually easy.
Conditions that require root canal treatment:
- Tooth fractures/traumatic damage
- Tooth decay
- Leakage around old coatings
What is Root Canal Treatment?
The purpose of endodontics is to relieve pain and infection so that people can save their teeth. Root canal treatment is the last option for the tooth to be saved and may not provide 100% healing. In cases where it cannot be saved, it may be necessary to extract the teeth and then apply implant or porcelain bridge treatments.
Is Root Canal Treatment Painful?
Often times, people have heard stories from friends or well-meaning colleagues that root canal is a very painful operation, but actually it has to do with anesthetic techniques. There are some teeth that are very difficult to anesthetize (for example, very inflamed lower molars), but root canal treatment is as comfortable as other dental procedures when anesthesia is applied with appropriate techniques.