Endodontic Treatment, or more commonly known as a “Root Canal Treatment”, is a procedure aimed at treating an “Infected Tooth” with a dead or dying nerve. Symptoms you may experience include:

• Pain
• Prolonged sensitivity to hot or cold
• Tenderness upon pressure – chewing or touch
• Discolouration of the tooth
• Swelling
• Pus drainage
• Tenderness in the lymph nodes which spreads to the jaw, side of the head, and surrounding gums
• Occasionally, there may be NO symptoms

If such a tooth is left unattended it can cause severe discomfort or health risks due to infection. The common causes of a root canal infection are:

• Deep decay
• Trauma to the tooth
• Crack or chip in the tooth.
• Occasionally, the cause may be unknown.  

At Dental Boutique, we invest in state of the art technology to perform root canal treatments predictably and successfully. Depending on the severity of the infection, root canal treatment can be carried out between 1-3 visits.

A small hole is drilled in the tooth, on the top for molars and at the back for front teeth. Specialised endodontic instruments are then placed in the root canal chamber to remove the infected nerve space.  The root chamber is thoroughly cleaned out and an antibiotic solution is placed inside the nerve chamber to help eradicate any remaining bacteria.

The root chamber is then filled in with a thick rubbery material to minimize the chance of any future reinfection and then the tooth is sealed off with a filling.

A crown is usually recommended for root canal treated teeth as they tend to become brittle over time due to loss of blood supply to the tooth and fracture, if not protected.