An infected tooth means major discomfort and without treatment, the risk of losing the tooth altogether. To prevent missing teeth, you need an endodontic treatment that can actually stop discomfort and preserve your tooth. Our Albany, NY dental office can offer smile preservation with root canal therapy.
The Impact of a Dental Infection
A tooth is infected when harmful oral bacteria make contact with the nerve center of your tooth, a collection of living tissue known as the pulp. An untreated cavity could be responsible, as the decay will grow and spread unless addressed with a filling. Likewise, damaged teeth due to an injury or teeth grinding could allow a tooth to become infected. When this happens, you may experience pain when eating, persistent toothaches, swelling near the tooth, pain in the face or jaw, or headaches. Don’t ignore these symptoms, seek treatment right away!
Saving Your Teeth With Root Canal Therapy
Without treatment, an infection will grow in severity and could spread to other teeth or move into the jawbone itself. You could lose the tooth or it may need to be extracted to protect the rest of your smile. But with an endodontic treatment, we can treat issues in the interior of your tooth, saving it and safeguarding your overall smile stability. To begin, we will take detailed digital x-rays to assess the position and severity of the infection. We then numb your tooth before we open it and remove the infected tissues from within. The interior of the tooth and root canals are cleaned, and a restorative filling is added to the tooth. Finally, we complete the root canal by capping the tooth with a custom crown.
A Preventive Approach
A root canal can save the tooth and keep your smile whole. But you can also take steps to help limit the risk of cavities and infections. You should see our team for a checkup every six months, so we can watch for the earliest warning signs of these concerns, and also clean the teeth to remove plaque and tartar buildup, limiting the risk of tooth decay. At home, be sure you brush and floss daily and limit your consumption of sugary foods and drinks.
If you have any questions about treating an infected tooth with a root canal, or about protecting your smile with better oral hygiene habits, then contact our team today to learn more.
Talk To Your Albany, NY Dentist About Restorative Dentistry!
With an endodontic treatment, our team can offer a stronger and healthier smile following decay or infection. If you would like to learn more about how we can help you, please call our Albany, NY dental office today at (518) 869-5397.