An Emergency Dentist Can Perform a Root Canal to Save Your Tooth

If your tooth is hurting, call an emergency dentist to schedule an immediate appointment.  When your tooth first gets an infection or a cavity, it probably won’t cause anything more than passing discomfort.  Many people don’t even know that they have a cavity until they visit the dentist for their regular teeth cleaning, making these bi-annual appointments extremely important.  In our office, we recommend that patients have their teeth cleaned and examined twice a year, throughout their lifetime.  This way we can identify and treat cavities or infections in these early stages, before they cause discomfort. Once your tooth starts to hurt, this is a sign that the infection has advanced, and you need to seek treatment right away. In many cases, the discomfort comes from the soft center of the tooth becoming infected.  This is called the dental pulp, and your roots run through it.  When the dental pulp becomes infected, it can create discomfort fairly quickly since the roots are right there.  If the pain becomes intense, you should seek immediate help so that you can feel better quickly, and the infection isn’t allowed to spread even further. As an emergency dentist, we can perform a root canal to address this situation.  With a root canal, a small hole is made in the tooth so that we can remove the infected or swollen area.  Sometimes only the pulp is removed while, in other cases, the roots are removed as well.  What exactly is necessary will be based on the extent of the infection.  We use sedation to ensure that you remain comfortable during the entire procedure.  This makes the infamous root canal, a comfortable experience. Once the infection has been removed, we will complete a thorough cleaning to ensure that we got it all and may also prescribe antibiotics to kill anything that may be lingering.  Afterwards, we will need to use a filling to close up the hole along with restoring any tooth structure that was removed due to the procedure or decay.  We use tooth-colored fillings so that it looks completely natural.  Still, some teeth may need further strengthening and protection.  In this case, we use a dental crown to surround the tooth and prevent anything from directly touching it.  Crowns can be made in all ceramic and silver amalgam, so they are versatile and work for any tooth.  Since the crown is a cap that surrounds the tooth, it works perfectly when a tooth is majorly cracked, or a large portion of the enamel is missing.  A crown can literally hold the tooth together and protect it from the pressure of biting down and chewing. In our emergency dentist office, we also treat other problems that can arise suddenly with your teeth. This includes a tooth that has become cracked or chipped while playing sports, in a car wreck, working or playing with the kids.  We can also help if your tooth has been knocked out entirely.  With flexible appointment times, we are your solution for emergency dental care.