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Root Canal

Root Canal | Tooth Extraction | Columbus Two words that everyone dreads – Root Canal! But Dr. Hughes and the staff at Pacer Dental are the experts at making sure your root canal care is completed as painlessly as possible. There is no need to fear those two words with Pacer Dental!

Root canal is a surgical procedure used to treat conditions within the dental pulp, the soft core of the tooth. The dental pulp contains nerves, blood vessels and tissue, and stretches from the crown of the tooth to the root of the jaw bone. Cracked or infected teeth can cause severe damage to the dental pulp and may cause it to die. A root canal removes the damaged pulp and helps save decayed or infected teeth.

The dental pulp may become damaged as a result of decay, cracks, chips, trauma or repeated dental procedures. Damage can cause severe toothache, increased sensitivity to hot or cold, discoloration and swelling and tenderness of the gum. Dental pulp damage can also eventually lead to bone loss, drainage problems and swelling that spreads to other areas. Timely treatment of this condition is necessary in order to avoid these complications.

A root canal procedure involves a deep cleaning of the inside of the tooth in order to remove bacteria, decayed nerve tissue and other debris. A hole is drilled into the tooth to allow Dr. Hughes to reach the inside with a root canal file. After being cleaned, the tooth is sealed, usually during the same appointment. This restores the health of the tooth and helps prevent against future infection and contamination.

Despite the common belief that a root canal is a painful procedure, most patients report the procedure to be no more painful than other dental procedures. You can take anti-inflammatory pain medications to help reduce pain after a root canal. Root canal procedures have a success rate of over 95 percent and are a permanent solution that goes unnoticed by others. Although most root canal procedures are performed successfully with no complications, there is always a risk that the treated tooth will become infected again in the future, especially if multiple root canals have been performed on the same tooth.

A root canal is the most commonly performed endodontic procedure, and involves treating problems within the soft core of the tooth, also known as the dental pulp. The dental pulp is the soft tissue found inside the tooth from the top all the way down to the end of the root, and contains nerves, blood vessels and connective tissue that provide nutrients to the tooth as it grows.

As teeth grow, the pulp provides nourishment and helps the tooth develop properly. But once the tooth is fully functioning, the nerve within it is not vital to the tooth's ability to function, and instead just serves sensory functions such as detecting the sensation of hot or cold. Therefore, the nerve and surrounding tissue can be removed from the tooth to repair and save the tooth from an infected pulp. The mature tooth will be able to survive without the pulp.

For the tooth to survive long term, due to diminished strength, a crown is usually needed to maintain tooth strength and avoid fracture and tooth loss.

Tooth Extraction

Extraction is recommended when a tooth becomes loose from gum disease, when teeth are crowded, when one tooth is preventing another from erupting, or when a tooth is so damaged or decayed that root canal therapy would be ineffective.

Because missing teeth can cause health problems ranging from tooth shifting to difficulty chewing, restorative procedures are recommended following extraction. These may take the form of dental implants, bridges or dentures.

The procedure itself may require removal of soft or hard tissue, depending on whether the tooth is fully erupted. A local anesthetic is usually all that is needed to eliminate discomfort, although a form of sedation can be provided to make it comfortable enough for any patient to accept the procedure.

Dr. Hughes has been trained in the Ogram method of extractions. This method was developed in Germany over a seven year research and development procedure. The method ensures that the least amount of damage is done to a patient’s surrounding tissues. This allows the patient to preserve a maximum amount of bone that can be utilized to accept an implant or support a denture securely following an extraction.

For Dr. Hughes and the staff at Pacer Dental, tooth extraction is not taken lightly. All options will be explored and discussed before a decision to extract a tooth is determined.