Bayside Root Canal Treatment
What is root canal treatment?
Root canal treatment is a procedure needed when the nerve centre of the tooth has become infected or has died, and the only way to save the tooth from extraction, is to have this treatment.
It is one of the most complex treatments for dentists to perform and many dentists refer all of these treatments to specialists. We however at BFD, are very confident and are happy to complete this treatment at our practice. For a small number of difficult cases we will refer, but for the most, relax knowing you are in good hands.
What is a root canal?
Let us help debunk the jargon for you.
Book an appointment online here with us now to discuss Root Canals and your dental options.
Root Canal Procedure Steps
Root Canal treatment is completed generally over 2 visits.
In brief, the first visit is to clean the inside of the tooth from bacteria, and the second is to 3-dimensionally fill the tooth from the inside out.
Root Canal Treatment – Visit 1:
The tooth is numbed with local anaesthesia. A rubber sheet is placed over the tooth only. This performs several actions:
- It retracts the lips and cheeks preventing saliva contamination
- It allows us to capture more water from the drill
- It is a safety net for small instruments we may use
The tooth is cleaned inside with a medicated cleaning rinse and a small metal file is used to gently remove the dirty parts inside of the tooth. You will feel nothing apart from a gentle purr or low vibration from the file. An X-ray is then taken to confirm the length of the tooth and thereafter the tooth is sealed with a sedative medicament and temporary filling until visit 2.
Root Canal Treatment – Visit 2:
- The tooth is given local anaesthesia again, and the rubber sheet is positioned on the tooth again.
- The tooth is then filled with a slender resin filler the same length as the canal(s) of the tooth root(s).
- To finish, the white filling is bonded to the tooth to seal the internal root canal filler. This part is the white filling that forms the tooth that we see.
Your root canal treatment is finished!
Your dentist will recommend having a crown placed on the tooth at a later date. Root treated teeth are dead teeth as they have no blood vessels and nerves, so like a piece of dead wood is very brittle, so is your tooth. They will suffer from fracture so this is why a crown is recommended to prevent this fracture and ultimately tooth loss.
What is a root canal?
Let us help debunk the jargon for you.
Book an appointment online here with us now to discuss Root Canals and your dental options.
Frequently Asked Questions - Root Canals
Is getting a root canal painful?
There are many stories out there saying root treatment is extremely painful. Our dentists at BFD always ensure your are completely numb before starting. With all our treatments that require anaesthesia , if you feel pain during treatment, we stop and give you more. We will not say “that’s ok we are almost done” or ” that’s strange, lets see how we go”.
How long do root canals hurt?
After your treatments you may experience a bit of dull discomfort for 1-2 days but not pain. Your dentist will discuss any pain relief if required.
How long does a root canal last?
Tricky question. We are treating a space inside a tooth of 20mm approximately that harbours bacteria. In the canal there are microchannels that branch off the main canal, so none of our cleaning tools, or those of the specialist can access these microcanals. We rely on cleaning the main canals then flushing the bacteria out with our rinse. Fundamentally, a good seal over the root filled canals is key for root canal success.
