The Root Canal Treatment

The term root canal is thrown around somewhat loosely in regards to tooth pain, but what does this actually mean? It’s worth noting that The American Association of Endodontics states that millions of teeth are treated through the root canal process each year! When someone refers to getting “a cavity filled”, this is a more common procedure. But when decay, gets too close to the nerve canal, that canal needs to be cleaned and filled to prevent ongoing damage and pain.

For a root canal treatment, the dentist or endodontist will remove the irritated part of your tooth interior, called the pulp. This is living tissue that has nerves and blood vessels, and is removed to prevent spreading infection to the bone. Following this, to ensure that the infection cannot happen again, your tooth is filled and sealed as a final step. It differs from getting a cavity filled as the work is done in the root as well, and root canals are done on teeth that have too much decay to be fixed by a normal filling.

Another common misunderstanding regarding a root canal is that people believe that the tooth is actually replaced in full. However, everything is done to save your original tooth, and so the tooth will not be removed. A filling or a crown will be placed later to protect the tooth. Your bite line will still be the same, and you will still be able to chew naturally. Not to mention this reassuring fact that you might like to hear: This dental process has the highest satisfaction rate of patients!

In total, the whole process can last from 1 to 3 hours depending on the complexity of the tooth and connection to various canals in the mouth. In New York, the approximate cost of a root canal treatment is about $1800 – $2500 without insurance, but the tooth will last a lifetime, when treated by experienced professional endodontic specialists, such as the team at Fifth Avenue Endodontics.

Those who have a tooth that is decayed and painful should not wait, because if a root canal cannot save the tooth, procedures like tooth extraction, placing an implant or creating a bridge can be more costly and quite involved. Nothing works as well as a natural tooth. Taking care of a problem sooner rather than later is always in the patient’s best interest.

There are still more benefits from this treatment. First of all, root canals have over 90% success rate in patients, leaving the margin for error very small for you. Your mouth also will not have to readjust, as you are keeping your own tooth. The reason this is a big deal is because if a foreign object is placed in the mouth, there are chances that it can cause other issues, like shifting of teeth or bacterial infections, even TMJ! And lastly, The root canal treatment procedure should be seen as an investment. When performed by skilled Endodontists, the root canal will pay for itself, as you will most likely never even have to touch the tooth again! You will be able to forget about it for the rest of your life, depending on your age at the time the work is done.

To rid yourself of pain and get this procedure done safely and correctly, contact Fifth Avenue Endodontics, Rockefeller Center, New York City with any questions on this subject. Your priority should be having it done right the first time around!