Here are some signs that a Root Canal might be needed:

• Tooth pain to cold or heat that lingers after heat or cold is removed

• Pain when biting

• Spontaneous tooth pain

• A small pimple-like bump on the gums near the painful tooth

• Tenderness or swelling of the gums next to the area of tooth pain

Used to, if you had a tooth that had a diseased nerve, you’d probably end up getting that tooth taken out. Today, with a procedure called root canal therapy, an extraction is no longer the best option and you can save the tooth.

Each one of our teeth has an area called the pulp. In the pulp lives the nerves and blood supply that provide our teeth with the nutrients they need to live. The pulp lives in a space called a canal which is down the middle of our teeth like a small straw. When this pulp gets diseased or injured, the pulp tissue dies which often is associated with pain in that tooth. If the dead pulp tissue is not removed from the tooth, your whole tooth and the bone around it could get infected and you could lose it. After the dentist removes the pulp from the tooth, the canal in that tooth is sealed off to protect it. Then, a crown (made in our in-house lab) is placed over the tooth to help make it stronger and prevent further breakdown.