Bradenton Dentist Explains What a Root Canal Is – and Why You Shouldn’t Be Afraid If You Need One

07 Jan Bradenton Dentist Explains What a Root Canal Is – and Why You Shouldn’t Be Afraid If You Need One

Bradenton, Florida, dentist Dr. Tiffany Boyd understands if a patient gets a look of dread when she tells them they need a root canal. 

If you haven’t had a root canal treatment before, you might be afraid when your dentist recommends that you have one. There was a time when the procedure could be hard on patients, but thankfully those days are far behind us. Thanks to the equipment and painkillers available to dentists today, a root canal treatment can be handled easily with relatively little pain or discomfort. (Many of the patients we see in our Bradenton dental office admit that they had feared the worst but were relieved to discover that the treatment wasn’t bad at all.)

What Is a Root Canal Treatment?

As the American Association of Endodontists explain, “Root canal treatment is an often straightforward procedure to relieve dental pain and save your teeth. Patients typically need a root canal when there is inflammation or infection in the roots of a tooth. During root canal treatment, an endodontist who specializes in such treatment carefully removes the pulp inside the tooth, cleans, disinfects and shapes the root canals, and places a filling to seal the space.”

A root canal is considered an endodontic procedure. “’Endo’ is the Greek word for ‘inside’ and ‘odont’ is Greek for ‘tooth.’ Endodontic treatment treats the inside of the tooth,” the AAE explains. “Root canal treatment is one type of endodontic treatment.”

Why Should You Have a Root Canal?

Left untreated, inflammation or decay in the root of your tooth can become increasingly painful and may even result in the loss of your tooth. Every year in the United States, dentists and endodontists are able to save more than 15 million teeth with root canal therapy. 

Bradenton dentist Dr. Tiffany Boyd has contributed to that number! If you have experienced intense pain when chewing, have a chipped tooth or have noticed that your gums appear darker, contact the team at Braden River Dental in Bradenton, Florida.