Root Canal Treatment (Endodontics)

Modern dentistry now gives you a far better opportunity to keep your teeth and smile for life. Root canal therapy (endodontics) can often save a tooth that in years gone by would have been lost.

Inside every tooth is a ‘pulp’ providing the nutrients and nerves. If the pulp becomes diseased or injured it can die and if this is left untreated a painful infection or ‘abscess’ can start and the tooth may need to be removed. During root canal treatment your dentist aims to save the tooth by thoroughly cleaning the root canal and then sealing it off to protect it. This process can take place over one or more visits. Later the tooth may need to have a crown to provide more strength and support.

With advances in modern dental anaesthetics, most patients report that having root canal treatment today is as unremarkable as having a filling placed.

What if I don’t have a root filling?

In this case the alternative is usually to have the tooth extracted. Once the pulp is diseased it cannot heal and it is not wise to leave an infected tooth in the mouth.