You have dental symptoms you can't ignore. Can your family dentists in West Columbia, SC, save that tooth? Dr. Peter Stoltz or Dr. Brooke Stoltz at Three Fountains Family Dental can tell you what's best for your tooth and your overall oral health. A root canal procedure may be an option. Learn here about what signs tell your dentist that you need one and also about details of this common dental treatment.

Signs you need a root canal

Root canal therapy--also called endodontic therapy--has been a reliable treatment for a long time. Removing diseased pulp from a tooth's interior chamber and up to four root canals (hence, the name), endodontic therapy relieves symptoms and brings new life to a compromised tooth. The American Association of Endodontists, dentists who specialize in this procedure, say that Americans undergo 15 million root canals annually, and most succeed.

Why would you need a root canal? A dental abscess is a leading cause. A deep injury is another. Additionally, your family dentist in West Columbia, SC, may choose root canal therapy to prevent extraction when a tooth has multiple restorations, and the structure above the gum line is weak.

So, your team at Three Fountains Family Dental urges you to seek advice if you have some or all of these symptoms:

• Throbbing toothache
• Redness and swelling at the gum line
• Extreme sensitivity to pressure, heat or cold
• Drainage from the tooth
• Bad breath
• Darkening of tooth enamel

Dr. Stoltz will examine and X-ray your tooth to confirm a diagnosis and to determine if your tooth is a candidate for root canal therapy.

The root canal procedure

A root canal procedure removes diseased interior tooth pulp and damaged tooth enamel, disinfects and fills the tooth and restores it with a porcelain crown. Your dentist usually uses a local anesthetic to numb the tooth.

Dr. Stoltz cleans the root canal with several tiny metal files. The dentist also disinfects the chamber and adds a material called gutta-percha to seal it. Your dentist repeats the treatment on the other root canals and places a temporary filling or crown over the tooth. Dental impressions go to a trusted lab where the new crown is fabricated.

You go home for a week or so of healing and eating a soft diet. Most people experience pain relief after a root canal procedure.

On your return appointment, Dr. Stoltz checks the site, removes the temporary restoration and bonds the new crown in place. Your tooth looks and feels great and will serve you for many more years.

Find out more

If you have concerning dental symptoms, don't wait. A root canal procedure may help you regain and keep good oral health. Call Three Fountains Family Dental for an appointment: (803) 755-0039.