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Root Canal Treatment

What is a dentist doing in Panama? 🚢
Looking for the Root Canal! 🦷

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Close-up of three molar teeth inside a person's mouth.
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What is a Root Canal Treatment?

When the nerve in a tooth is hurt, infected, or swollen, a root canal is done to save the tooth. The treatment includes removing the nerve and restoring the tooth. Afterwards, a crown is placed on top to strengthen the tooth, like fixing a house before it falls.

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When is Root Canal Treatment required?

If you have any of the following symptoms occur, you may need a root canal treatment:

  • Tooth becomes painful – usually many people have a throbbing and aching pain which can spread all over the face

  • Tender to bite on tooth

  • Tooth is particularly sensitive to hot and cold

  • An obvious large cavity (hole) in the tooth

  • Tooth suddenly becomes dark in colour.

  • Facial swelling limited around the upper and/or lower jaw with or without toothache.

However, the pulp of the tooth may sometimes die without causing noticeable pain. Regular dental check-ups every six months can help prevent these issues from going unnoticed.

How is root canal done?

Root canal treatment is performed under local anesthetics. The nerve inside the tooth is removed through a small opening on the top. Thin tools and cleaning liquids are used under a rubber barrier to keep you safe and minimize germs. X-rays and a special measuring tools are used to measure the tooth's canal length. A medium-term filling is placed before we prepare a crown.

Over 80% of root canals are effective.

This can be summarized with the following flow chart:

How many appointments does it take for my root canal to be completed?

Around three appointments. At times it may be more or less depending on how difficult it is to clean your canals.

Anything I need to do after I have my root canal?

Yes, we highly recommend getting a crown done as after as your teeth will become more brittle and easily cracked compared to tooth without root canal. In fact, it’s 6 times more likely to crack!

Further information about root canal treatment

Something for you think about if you recently had root canal treatment, you’ll most likely need a crown: