What is a root canal?

At Chicago Style Smiles a root canal isn’t a scary thing; in fact root canals are one of the most common dental procedures performed. Well over 14 million root canals are performed every year in the world. This simple treatment can save your natural teeth and prevent the need of a dental implant or bridge.

At the center of your tooth is pulp. Dental pulp is a collection of blood vessels and nerves that help to provide nutrients, strength, and sensation to the tooth.

Infection of the pulp can be caused by trauma to the tooth, deep decay, cracks and chips, or repeated dental procedures. Symptoms of the infection can be identified as visible injury or swelling of the tooth, sensitivity to temperature or pain in the tooth and gum.

How is a root canal performed?

At Chicago Style Smiles we treat you how we would want to be treated. We do everything we can to make this procedure as comfortable as possible (feel free to bring your favorite music to listen to while we work too).

If you are experiencing tooth pain, or notice a swelling, root canal therapy may be necessary. Dr. Dow and Dr. Fisher are properly trained and equipped to treat the cause of your discomfort, a diseased or infected dental pulp, to help relieve your pain and get you back to your pain-free life. Root canal treatment involves removing the diseased pulp tissue and thoroughly cleaning the root canal system. Once this is done, the canals are filled and the tooth is sealed to help prevent future infections. Root canals are typically completed in one or two visits with local anesthesia to ensure a completely comfortable experience. Root canals have a success rate of about 90%, so they are a great option to relieve pain and save teeth. If your tooth is not amenable to endodontic treatment, you will be informed at the time of consultation or if complications arise during or after treatment. In the event of complications, a referral may be made to one of our excellent endodontic specialists.

What happens after treatment?

After completing your root canal, Drs. Dow and Fisher will provide post-operative instructions to ensure healing can occur. Once completed, a tooth with a root canal will often require restorative procedures to protect it from future fractures or failures. Commonly, this restorative treatment involves a post and core buildup, and a crown.