Root Canal Dentist, Winston-Salem, NC

A root canal is a dental procedure intended to eliminate oral discomfort and restore an infected tooth. A skilled dentist at Luna Dental eliminates bacteria and dead or dying tissue from inside your tooth when it becomes severely infected. Doing so eliminates pain and preserves the tooth.

Roots and tissue inside your teeth can become infected by bacteria as a result of injury or a cavity that’s left untreated. If you don’t get to a dentist in time, the infected tissue can reach the pulp, or root, of your tooth. A severely infected tooth can lead to tooth loss.

If you have an infected tooth, you might experience a significant amount of discomfort. Infected tooth symptoms can include:

• Inflamed gums
• Tooth soreness while chewing
• Intense tooth sensitivity to hot and cold temperatures
• Bad breath
• Pus near the infected tooth
• Painful aching in your jaw and mouth
• A darker colored tooth
• A small pimplelike bump on your gums

Call Luna Dental right away if you experience any of these symptoms.

Typically, a highly skilled dentist at Luna Dental takes care of an infected tooth in one or two visits. You could first require X-rays so your dentist can judge the magnitude of damage an infected tooth has caused.

Your dentist numbs the affected region with a local anesthetic to make sure you don’t feel pain during the procedure. Occasionally, your dentist puts a dental dam – a little piece of rubber – on your tooth to preserve its cleanliness and protect it from bacteria during the procedure.

Once your tooth is anesthetized, your dentist:

• Drills a tiny hole in your tooth to reach the diseased area within the root
• Clears away the unhealthy, infected pulp
• Irrigates the area with water to clean it
• Seals the tooth or applies a temporary filling to it

Call Luna Dental today or book a consultation online if you have signs or symptoms of a tooth infection, to find out if you’re a good candidate for a root canal.