Root Canal Therapy in National City, CA

Getting a root canal may sound scary, but with modern dental techniques and technology, root canals are one of the most successful and pain-free procedures you can get.

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Root Canal Therapy

What Is a Root Canal?

A root canal is a restorative treatment that removes infected tissue from a tooth to restore an infected tooth to health and prevent the need for an extraction. A tooth can become infected from decay that spreads through the tooth when it’s left untreated or when you suffer from dental trauma.

Bacteria enter the tooth’s pulp, causing inflammation and an abscess. Symptoms may include pain, tooth sensitivity, discoloration, swelling, an abscess, a chipped tooth, and swollen lymph nodes. In situations where the infection is isolated in the crown of the tooth, a less invasive procedure called a pulpotomy can be performed, which only removes some of the tooth’s pulp.

When the infection has spread to the roots, however, all of the dental pulp including the roots will need to be scraped out before we can clean and fill the tooth. If you think your child has a tooth infection, contact us at Sweetwater Pediatric Dentistry today to schedule an appointment.

Did you know…

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A root canal can save you from requiring a more invasive procedure, like an extraction.

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Anterior

We will make an access hole into the lingual side of the tooth to reveal the tooth’s dental pulp. Then, the pulp along with the roots will be scraped out with special tools. Each of the tooth’s canals will be thoroughly sanitized and reshaped. 

In the front teeth, there are only 1 or 2 canals so this can be done in one appointment. Then, a filling material known as gutta-percha is used to refill the inside of the tooth. The access hole is sealed with a permanent filling.

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Posterior

One of our pediatric dentists in National City will drill an access hole into the chewing surface of the tooth to gain access to the dental pulp. Since these teeth are larger, thicker, and contain more canals, the process of removing the dental pulp and cleaning each of the canals can take multiple appointments. 

A temporary filling will be placed to seal the root canals in between appointments until canal cleaning has been completed. The rear molars can contain 3 to 4 canals per tooth. After filling the tooth with gutta-percha, a dental crown fabricated from impressions of your child’s teeth will be cemented to the tooth to protect it from damage.

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Before & After

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Benefits of Saving Your Child’s Tooth

Save your Child's Teeth

It’s so important to save your child’s teeth whenever possible because they play a huge role in their oral health, facial development, bite alignment, speech, nutrition, and overall health. Many parents make the mistake of thinking that baby teeth aren’t as important because they are going to naturally fall out anyway. 

Prevent Pain and other Potential health Problems

However, failing to care for your child’s teeth can cause them immense pain and serious oral health problems that put their overall health at risk. Losing a tooth can cause speech problems, difficulty eating certain foods and insecurity in their smile. 

Avoid orthodontic problems

Missing teeth can cause bone loss and shifting teeth that cause orthodontic problems. This can block the eruption of the underlying permanent tooth, causing it to be impacted. All of these problems can be avoided through prevention and minimally invasive treatment that will save you a lot of time and money in the long run.

The Root Canal Process

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Exam & X-Rays

One of our dentists will carefully examine your teeth and take x-rays to look for signs of tooth decay and infection. Digital scans will show us if an abscess is present and if decay has spread to the dental pulp, which indicates that the tooth is infected. We can also see how far the infection is spread and if a root canal is still viable.

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Pain Relief & Sedation Options

To prevent your child from feeling any pain, we will administer local anesthesia which completely numbs their mouth. If your child has dental anxiety, special needs, or low pain tolerance, we also offer dental sedation options to help them relax.

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Pulpectomy

Once your child’s mouth is numbed and they are comfortable, we will use a dental drill to gain access to the tooth’s pulp chamber and will remove the tooth’s pulp all the way down to the roots. This will remove the source of the infection and provide pain relief.

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Cleaning Canals

Each of the tooth’s canals is thoroughly sanitized and reshaped. This process can take 1 to 2 appointments depending on how many canals the tooth has.

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Filling & Crown Placement

A special rubber-like material known as gutta-percha is placed in the center of the tooth to replace the missing pulp. This restores the tooth’s strength and functionality. However, the rear teeth need extra protection from breakage because the root canal procedure can weaken the teeth and they undergo more chewing forces. We recommend protecting these teeth with dental crowns.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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