Root Canal Treatment, South Dublin

When the pulp, the soft tissue inside the root canal, becomes irritated or infected, root canal treatments are required. Numerous factors, including extensive decay, repeated dental treatments on the tooth, or a crack or chip in the tooth, might contribute to the inflammation or infection. Additionally, even if there are no obvious chips or breaks in the tooth, an injury nonetheless may result in pulp damage. Untreated pulp inflammation and infection can hurt or result in an abscess.

Our main objective here at Smile Hub clinic in South Dublin is to return your teeth to their original shape and function in order to safeguard them from further harm and to enhance your quality of life. Additionally, these procedures enhance your teeth’s aesthetics, boosting your confidence in your smile and general appearance.

FAQ’s

What is root canal treatment?

The dentist or endodontist needs to remove the infected pulp, open up the tooth at the crown, clean and shape the canals, and then fill the canal system. This is known as endodontic or root canal treatment. Gutta percha, a filler that resembles rubber and forms a seal in the canal to prevent reinfection, is used. After that, tooth-coloured filling material is used to fill the tooth’s crown.

Does the treatment hurt?

No, the process shouldn’t be painful for you. Using local anaesthetic, we will numb your tooth and the surrounding area. While you will sense that treatment is being given, you won’t experience any pain.

How many visits are required?

Your root canal treatment may be completed in a single appointment or over the course of several sessions, depending on how complicated your situation is. At your initial appointment, we’ll be able to talk with you about this. Rarely will a patient require more than two visits.

Is treatment always successful?

Typically, root canal therapy has excellent results. However, on rare occasions, a tooth may continue to be infected after a root filling and not settle down. In this situation, surgery is required to remove the infected area. The tooth can usually be salvaged in this unusual instance.

What are the signs root canal treatment is needed?

Pain, prolonged sensitivity to heat or cold, tenderness to touch and chewing, tooth discolouration, swelling, drainage, and tenderness in the lymph nodes as well as the adjacent bone and gingival tissues are all warning signs to watch out for. But occasionally there are no symptoms.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do i need root canal treatment?

Root canal treatment is very successful but in some cases a patient may need a root canal re-treatment if their previous root canal treatment has failed. This depends on the particular case but it may be because the treatment has not healed correctly or an infection is present in the tooth.

Is it painful?

The nerve has been removed in a tooth that has had root canal treatment. Even though there is no nerve a dentist will still use anaesthetic to numb the area so that the patient will not feel any pain during the procedure. After the numbness wears off there may be slight discomfort for a few days which pain killers can help with. It is recommended that the patient does not chew on anything hard on that side to prevent the tooth fracturing before the permanent crown is placed.

How successful is it?

How successful a root canal re-treatment is, depends on the pervious treatment of the tooth and the reasons of its failure. Usually, the success rate for a re-treated tooth can range from 75% to 88%.

How long does it take?

A root canal retreatment usually takes around the same amount of time as the original treatment. A visit is usually between 30 to 60 minutes but can take longer if the case is difficult. If there is a lot of inflammation or the treatment is complex there may be more than one appointment needed to make sure the treatment heals correctly.

The average root canal treatment is 30 to 60 minutes long. More complex cases may take around 90 minutes. A root canal typically requires one or two appointments to complete.

What does the procedure involve?

An oral examination is initially carried out with diagnostic testing tools, such as X-rays, imaging and biopsy to isolate the cause of infection. The spread of dental pulp infection is tracked, so that the exact location of infected root canals can be identified. Once a patient consents to the root canal procedure a treatment date is set. The patient’s teeth will first be cleaned and a local anaesthetic is given to numb the treatment area for pain-free root canal treatment.

The oral surgeon then uses a dental drill to gently access the inner tooth pulp. A dental instrument is used to carefully scrape away the infected tooth root tissue. Based on the severity of infection and treatment required, the patient may need time to recover from the initial procedure before receiving further root canal treatment.

Once the infected dental pulp and tooth root tissue are removed, a dental substance known as gutta percha is inserted into the space to secure the tooth within the jawbone and prevent the return of infection. A dental crown may then be placed over the tooth surface to solidify structure and improve dental bite function.