Root Canal Treatment

Root canal therapy (or endodontics) is a specialist dental procedure to treat infection inside a tooth. Bacteria that normally live in the mouth can sometimes invade a tooth due to injury, cracks, faulty fillings, or tooth decay. The bacteria can cause an infection of the living tissue (pulp) which is contained within a space inside a tooth called the root canal.

The pulp inside a tooth consists of soft tissue, including nerves and blood vessels. If the pulp is damaged, blood vessels may die. And a “dead” tooth is prone to infection.

Without treatment, the infection may spread down the root canal and tissues around the end of the tooth can become red and swollen. The tooth itself becomes painful and, in some cases, a dental abscess (collection of pus) may form. As well as experiencing pain, patients may suffer from nausea, fever and have difficulty swallowing.

At Enfield Dental Practice, we aim to provide painless root-canal treatment in either one or two visits. First, the decay and infection must be removed from the tooth. We then fill the root canal and seal the tooth with a filling or a crown to restore and protect the tooth from fracture.