Root Canal Therapy

We hear the phrase “root canal” a lot in dentistry, but what is it really? The branch of root canal treatment is also known as “endodontics”, meaning literally “inside the tooth”. The root canal system is the hollow space in the middle of the tooth where the nerve and blood supply to the tooth reside. When the nerve inside a tooth becomes injured, such as from deep decay, repeated dental work on the tooth, a large crack or fracture, or from physical trauma, it becomes inflamed, and may become infected and eventually die. This progression often results in intense pain that we commonly identify as a “toothache”. Unfortunately, if the injury to the nerve is too severe, it loses the capacity to heal itself, and if left untreated, may lead to dental abscess and chronic infections.

The root canal therapy is a treatment option that saves a tooth from requiring to be removed when its nerve becomes diseased or is dying. It is the alternative that allows patients to preserve their own natural tooth.

Common symptoms of nerve inflammation or infection requiring root canal therapy:

• The tooth is extremely sensitive to hot or cold
• The tooth hurts when biting or if pressure is applied
• The pain is sharp and radiates up the side of the face
• The pain is throbbing
• The pain keeps you up at night, or wakes you up at night
• The area is swollen
• You have a bad taste or smell in your mouth

Sometimes, there are no obvious or noticeable symptoms to let you know there is a problem! Only regular dental visits and digital x-rays (as well as the expert eye of a dentist) can reveal the underlying trauma.

Traditionally, the biggest challenge to the long term success of root canals therapies has been the inability to completely cleanse the root canal system. With modern imaging technologies, we now understand that the root canal systems are not only made up of large, distinct spaces within the tooth, as previously deduced from x-ray images. In reality, there is also a complex and intricate web of countless numbers of interconnecting microscopic channels. These channels cannot be cleaned mechanically with tools, and dentists must rely on disinfecting solutions to chemically disinfect them. 

At Chinook Smiles, we utilize the Fotona LightWalker laser’s world-leading SWEEPS (Shock Wave Enhanced Emission Photo-acoustic Streaming) technology to accomplish what was impossible before. Laser energy is converted into photoacoustic waves within the cleaning and debriding solutions introduced in the root canal system to achieve the highest level of disinfection. Treatments become faster, more predictable, with improved outcomes.