Treatment for Decay-Stricken Root Canals
Much like any other dental treatment, addressing tooth decay can mean different things for different people. For example, while most patients can treat their mild to moderate cavities with a custom-designed dental filling, more severe cases of tooth decay may require more involved root canal treatment. In addition to restoring the tooth’s main structure, root canal treatment also involves removing harmful bacteria and infected tooth tissues from within its inner chamber, called the pulp.
How Root Canal Treatment Is Performed
Tooth decay is progressive, so preserving your tooth requires removing the harmful bacteria that cause it and the tooth structure and/or tissues that have already been infected by them. In the case of root canal treatment, this means carefully accessing the inner pulp and root canal, which contain the tooth’s nerves, blood vessels, and other soft tissues. After these are carefully removed, we can fortify the tooth by filling the pulp and root canal with durable, biocompatible material.
The Benefits of Early Treatment
Because tooth decay grows increasingly worse over time, seeking treatment as early as possible is the best way minimize the threat to your oral health. If the decay is bad enough to require root canal treatment, then undergoing it as soon as possible is even more important. For example, early treatment can help you:
- Alleviate severe tooth pain faster
- Avoid tooth loss or the need for tooth extraction
- Preserve more of your healthy tooth structure
- Regain your bite’s full function
- Reduce the risks of more severe oral infection
- And more
Save Your Tooth from Internal Decay
Internal tooth decay poses a much greater threat to your oral health than a mild or moderate cavity, but we can still treat it conservatively with root canal treatment. To learn if you need root canal treatment to save your tooth, schedule an appointment with us by calling MMC Dental in Houston, TX, today at 713-926-8896.
