At Blakehurst Dental we perform root canal therapy that will put your nerves at ease. Root canal therapy can save a tooth with a severely damaged, inflamed, or necrotic nerve. Despite having a bad reputation, root canal therapy carried out using effective anaesthetic techniques and modern dental technology is often painless. In fact, many of Dr Emma’s patients have been known to fall asleep during the procedure!

Signs and symptoms you need a root canal:

• Extreme and lingering sensitivity to hot and cold

• Spontaneous pain, often waking you from your sleep

• Tenderness when biting into the tooth or when pressure is applied

• Swelling around the gum

Symptoms may be intermittent and ignoring them may lead to significant pain.

Pain management:

Antibiotics are rarely indicated when experiencing the above symptoms and are only needed if there is an active infection or swelling associated with an inflamed nerve.

The most effective pain management for inflammation is with simple over the counter anti-inflammatories such as Ibuprofen.

If you are experiencing any of the above symptoms, please contact our reception to make an appointment or book online.

What to expect:

The root canal therapy is carried out over two or three appointments. Following the development of a severe toothache the first emergency appointment will alleviate your pain by opening the tooth and relieving the pressure and toxins that have built up inside.

The second appointment will focus on thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting the root canal system housed within the root of your tooth. This is done by mechanical instrumentation and chemical irrigation rendering the canal in the root clean and sterile.

During the final appointment, the root canal system is filled with a biocompatible material allowing the tooth to remain comfortably in your mouth.

Following root canal therapy, the tooth is considered to be necrotic, meaning there is no longer a nerve in the tooth. As such, the tooth becomes more brittle and more prone to fracturing. Research suggests that following root canal therapy a tooth will then need to have a cusp-covering restoration placed, which is usually in the form of a ceramic onlay or crown.