Root Canals, Hellertown PA

A root canal is not a bad thing. In fact, it may be the only thing standing between keeping your natural tooth and needing dental implants or dentures. Root canals saves your tooth. It is not meant to harm you but rather to help you. Let Hellertown Dental Group in Hellertown, PA help you take a deeper look at what a root canal can do to help you and your smile today.

What is a root canal?

Aside from being one of the most misunderstood dental procedures in the world, a root canal is a tooth-saving procedure. Your Hellertown, PA dentist will perform root canals treatment to remove an infected tooth nerve. The root canals treatment will remove the nerve and the soft material called pulp from around the nerve. This will remove the infection from your tooth and relieve the pain that it caused.

Why a root canal is needed

A root canal is needed when the nerve of your tooth gets infected. The infection can be caused by several different things. Deep tooth decay or trauma to the tooth and face are normally to blame for the infection of your tooth nerve. The nerve needs to be removed to avoid the formation of an abscess or to clear an already formed abscess.

An abscess is a pocket of infected material that forms at the base of your tooth root. This pocket of infection can cause severe damage to your dental structure. Symptoms of an abscess include:

• Pressure in your gums – The infected pocket will begin to grow and cause you to feel the pressure as it builds. This is a big warning sign that something is very wrong.
• Swelling – As with most infections, there will be noticeable swelling in the area around the infection. This is your body’s response to try to fight the infection.

The final result of an untreated abscess can be tooth loss or something much worse. Untreated infections have the ability to get into your bloodstream and cause a host of other issues. Do not wait to get the care you need. Call Hellertown Dental Group immediately if you think you may have an infection.

Root canals don’t hurt at Hellertown Dental

The reason we say that root canals are misunderstood is that many people believe that there is no procedure more painful than root canals. This could not be further from the truth. A root canal is no more painful than having your tooth filled. The stories about how much a root canal hurts have placed the blame on the procedure, and not where it should be – the dentist, or outdated techniques.

Our dentists can be trusted when it comes to your root canal procedure. Dr. Hunsicker-Morrissey is an experienced dentist with up-to-date knowledge in dentistry. Dr. Hunsicker-Morrissey earned her Doctorate on Dental Medicine at University of Pennsylvania.

Your Hellertown, PA dentist, Dr. Hunsicker-Morrissey, knows that no two people are the same, including how much pain we are able to tolerate. People with a high pain threshold will not require as much anesthetic as someone who has a low pain threshold. The determining line for how much to administer is how you feel and whether you are comfortable. We will make sure that you do not feel anything you shouldn’t during your procedure.