Root Canal Treatment
Root Canal Treatment
When appropriate, root canal treatment can allow us to retain a natural tooth that might otherwise need to be removed.
At Station St Dental, the decision to undertake root canal treatment begins with careful diagnosis and an assessment of whether the tooth can be predictably restored and maintained over the longer term.
Why Might a Tooth Need Root Canal Treatment?
The dental pulp sits within the centre of the tooth and contains nerves and blood vessels.
It can become inflamed or infected for several reasons, including:
- Deep decay
- A crack or fracture within the tooth
- A large or failing restoration
- Previous trauma
- Repeated treatment to the same tooth
- Infection developing around the end of the root
Sometimes the cause is obvious. In other cases, diagnosing which tooth is responsible for the symptoms can require careful investigation.
What Are the Symptoms?
A tooth requiring root canal treatment may cause:
- Persistent or severe toothache
- Prolonged sensitivity to hot or cold
- Pain when biting
- Tenderness around the tooth
- Swelling or a dental abscess
- A recurring pimple or swelling on the gum
- Discolouration of the tooth
However, not every infected or non-vital tooth causes pain. Some problems are discovered during a routine examination or on a dental X-ray.
Diagnosing the Problem
Toothache doesn’t automatically mean that root canal treatment is required.
We assess your symptoms and examine the tooth carefully. This may include testing its response to temperature, assessing tenderness and biting pressure, examining existing restorations and taking appropriate digital X-rays.
Cracked teeth can be particularly challenging because symptoms may resemble those of an inflamed dental pulp. Understanding why the pulp has become damaged is important when deciding whether root canal treatment is likely to provide a predictable result.
What Does Root Canal Treatment Involve?
Root canal treatment removes inflamed or infected tissue from within the tooth and cleans and disinfects the internal root canal system.
Treatment usually involves several stages:
- Accessing the pulp chamber and root canals
- Removing inflamed or infected tissue
- Carefully cleaning and shaping the root canal system
- Disinfecting the canals
- Sealing the cleaned root canals
- Restoring and protecting the remaining tooth
Local anaesthesia is used during treatment to keep the area comfortable.
Depending on the tooth and clinical situation, treatment may be completed over one or more appointments.
What Happens After Root Canal Treatment?
A tooth requiring endodontic treatment has often already lost significant structure through decay, fracture or previous restorations. The remaining tooth therefore needs to be assessed carefully and appropriately restored.
Depending on how much healthy tooth structure remains, this might involve a bonded restoration, ceramic onlay or crown.
The objective is to protect the remaining tooth and provide a restoration capable of functioning predictably over the longer term.
Root Canal Treatment or Extraction?
Where a tooth has a reasonable long-term prognosis and can be predictably restored, retaining the natural tooth is often desirable.
However, root canal treatment may not be appropriate when a tooth is severely cracked, structurally unrestorable, significantly compromised by periodontal disease or otherwise has a poor prognosis.
In these situations, extraction and consideration of replacement options may provide a more predictable outcome.
Our role is to explain the condition of the tooth, the likelihood of successfully retaining it, the alternatives available and the implications of each option.
When We Recommend an Endodontist
Some root canal treatments are relatively straightforward and can be undertaken at Station St Dental.
Others involve complex root anatomy, previous root canal treatment, difficult diagnosis or other factors that make specialist care preferable.
In these situations, we work closely with specialist endodontists and can coordinate referral and subsequent restoration of the tooth.
Referring a difficult case isn’t a last resort — sometimes it is simply the most appropriate way to give a tooth the best opportunity to be retained.
Preserving a Natural Tooth — When It Makes Sense
We place considerable value on preserving natural teeth, but saving a tooth and predictably maintaining a tooth are not always the same thing.
Before recommending root canal treatment, we consider not only whether the infection can be treated, but whether the remaining tooth can be restored, protected and maintained afterwards.
That longer-term view helps us determine whether root canal treatment, extraction or another approach is the most appropriate treatment for the individual patient.
Why Choose Station St Dental?
Truly Holistic Dental Care
Integrated, Multi-Disciplinary Dentistry
To ensure we stay ahead of the curve, our entire team - including our friendly front desk staff - regularly attends professional development courses. We’re committed to learning the latest advancements in dental care and proudly use cutting-edge equipment and technology in our clinic.
A Comfortable, Family-Friendly Environment
Family-Focused Dentistry
It’s not uncommon for families to schedule their appointments together, making it easy and convenient to manage everyone’s oral health in one visit.
Plus, eligible children may access up to $1,132 in dental care over two years through the Medicare Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS) - making quality care more accessible when you need it most.
We Also Accept All Major Health Funds, CDBS & Veteran Affairs
