1. What are the benefits of root canal therapy versus extraction?

I cannot stress enough the importance of keeping your teeth, if at all possible! Losing even a single tooth can have drastic consequences for the entire mouth. Problems such as shifting and tipping of teeth, super-eruption of opposing teeth (the opposing tooth grows longer out of the socket in search of another tooth to bite against), bite issues, and TMJ pain are common consequences of losing teeth.

The benefits of root canal therapy are fairly straight forward: Elimination of pain, elimination of bacterial infection, and you get to keep your tooth long term.


2. How successful are root canals?

The studies I have seen have shown success rates of root canal therapy from 80% to 90%. If you think about it, that is really a remarkable success rate compared to many other procedures in medicine and dentistry. Find out if your dentist uses the latest in technology and techniques in root canal therapy because we have come a long way in just the last 5-10 years.


3. What should I do if a medicated dressing was placed under my filling and it is still sensitive to heat and/or cold?

If you have a sensitive tooth with a deep filling on it here are a few questions to ask yourself: Do I have pain on the tooth that lingers 30 seconds or more after eating or drinking something hot or cold? Does the tooth ever hurt spontaneously? Does the tooth ever wake me up at night? If the answer is ‘Yes’ to any of these questions, contact your dentist right away.


4. What is resorption?

Root resorption occurs when you have an untreated infection or abscess at the end of the roots of a tooth for a long period of time. Resorption of the root usually starts at the apex (very end of the root) and progresses towards the crown of the tooth. As a consequence, the root is permanently shortened which may compromise the future restoration and longevity of the tooth. Quite often these situations occur as a result of a past trauma to the tooth. Depending upon the type of root resorption, the tooth can usually be saved by performing root canal therapy. However, there are some instances where the tooth can be deemed unsalvageable.


5. What is an apicoectomy?

Apicoectomy is a procedure that is preformed when a root canal has failed and the restorations on the tooth do not allow access to the root canal system. This tends to be a last-ditch effort to try to save a tooth. An apicoectomy is done by surgically accessing the end of the root of the tooth. The surgeon then removes a portion of the apex of the tooth and then does a retro-fill which is basically filling the root canal from the apex end of the root. This is a procedure I recommend only if we have no other choice because the success rates tend to be much lower than if we were to extract the tooth and place an implant.


6. Why is a rubber dam used during root canal treatment?

A rubber dam should be used for all root canal procedures. These devices isolate the tooth from the oral environment, preventing recontamination of the root canals we are trying to disinfect. In our office, we use a device called an Isolite which is able to isolate the tooth without having to use the uncomfortable clamps associated with rubber dams.