Root Canal Therapy Alexandria VA
What Is a Root Canal?
A root canal is a endodontic therapy used to treat an infected tooth. When bacteria enter the center of the tooth, where the dental pulp is located, either from untreated tooth decay or dental trauma, the pulp becomes inflamed and forms an abscess, which is a pocket of pus.
This indicates that your tooth is infected and requires root canal therapy to prevent the infection from becoming more severe and spreading to other teeth or through the bloodstream. To treat the infection, we will remove the infected pulp along with the roots and thoroughly clean the inside canals and then refill the tooth with a special material to restore the strength and structure of the tooth. The tooth can survive without its dental pulp by feeding off nutrients from the surrounding tissues.
The tooth is often protected with a crown depending on its location and strength. Give us a call at Alexandria Dental Spa to schedule a consultation with your trusted dentist Alexandria.
Did you know…
READY TO SCHEDULE
YOUR APPOINTMENT?
How It Works: The Root Canal Process
Consultation
Local Anesthesia
Pulpectomy
Cleaning the Canals
Filling
Dental Crown
Root Canal Therapy Options
Anterior
Anterior root canals are performed on the front teeth. While this is less common, root canals are done a little differently in these thinner teeth with fewer canals. Firstly, we need to make an access hole in the back of the tooth to gain access to the pulp chamber because there isn’t enough space on the chewing surfaces of the teeth to make the access hole there.
After removing the infected pulp and roots, we clean the canals. The front teeth have fewer canals which often means we can do this faster and with fewer appointments. Since these teeth aren’t used for chewing, they will typically just receive a permanent filling instead of a crown.
Did you know…
INTERESTED IN RESTORATIVE DENTAL CARE?
Have Questions About Root Canals?
Find answers here.
