Root Canal Therapy
Root canal treatment saves a tooth whose nerve has become infected — and has a considerably worse reputation than it deserves.
Inside every tooth is a soft core containing nerve and blood supply. When deep decay, a crack or an injury lets bacteria reach it, that tissue becomes infected. Root canal treatment removes it, disinfects the space and seals it, so the tooth can stay.
Signs a tooth may need it
- Persistent, throbbing toothache, often worse lying down
- Prolonged pain to hot or cold after the source is removed
- Pain on biting or when the tooth is touched
- Swelling or tenderness in the gum near the tooth
- A tooth that has darkened compared with its neighbours
About the reputation
Root canal treatment is remembered as painful largely because people arrive in severe pain from the infection itself. The treatment is what stops it. Done under anaesthetic, the appointment is generally comparable to having a filling — long, but not agonising.
Common questions
- Would it be simpler to just have the tooth out?
- It is quicker, but it leaves a gap that then needs replacing with an implant, a bridge or a denture — usually at greater cost and complexity than saving the tooth. Keeping your own tooth is almost always the better outcome where it is possible.
- Will the tooth need a crown afterwards?
- Often, particularly for back teeth. A tooth that has had root canal treatment becomes more brittle and is more likely to fracture, and a crown protects against that.