Root Canals and Extractions

Root Canals

A root canal is used to treat a tooth’s soft core when it becomes damaged or diseased. This soft core is called the dental pulp and contains the nerves, blood vessels and other connective tissue that extends from the crown of the tooth to the root, down into the jaw bone.

 

If tooth decay or a crack in a tooth causes an abscess or infection in the dental pulp, it must be treated to prevent further infection and damage to your jaw bone. The treatment is called a root canal and is performed by a general dentist or an endodontist (a root canal specialist).

 

The diseased or damaged dental pulp is removed, the pulp chamber and the root canal(s) of the tooth are cleaned out and sealed with a temporary filling until a crown can be permanently placed on the tooth. This procedure may take up to three appointments to complete.

 

Extractions

Nobody enjoys the idea of having to go to a dentist or dental surgeon to get a tooth or wisdom teeth pulled – and we understand that. There are many reasons why a tooth extraction may be necessary: tooth decay, gum disease, preparation for braces, or impacted wisdom teeth extraction.

 

We begin the tooth extraction procedure by applying a topical anesthetic gel then a local anesthetic, which will numb the area around the tooth to be removed. Once the area is fully numbed, the tooth or teeth can be extracted. Once the operation is complete, you may or may not need some stitches. If anxiety is high, Ferguson dental can use oral sedatives or Nitrous Oxide, commonly known as laughing gas.

 

The great thing is that recovery time from tooth extraction or wisdom teeth extraction is typically only a few days. There are also many things that you can do to speed up the tooth extraction recovery, such as rinsing your mouth with salt water and regularly replacing gauze.