Can An Emergency Dentist Do A Root Canal?

Dental emergencies always require immediate attention if nasty complications are to be averted. These situations include severe toothache and bleeding, a chipped or broken tooth, damaged dental restorations, among others.

A root canal is another procedure emergency dentists may need to perform. In this article, you will learn more about why a root canal could be considered a dental emergency.

What Is Root Canal Therapy?

A root canal therapy is a procedure performed by a dentist to remove infected tissues inside the teeth’ roots. Let’s get some insight into the anatomy of the teeth here.

The dental structure is made in a unique form. The enamel is the whitish, hard part that protects the inner teeth structure from danger. When the enamel is destroyed, the internal teeth tissues are exposed to damage.

These inner teeth tissues include the dental pulp containing blood vessels and the nerves. All of these are found in the root canal. When these parts of the tooth get infected, a severe toothache is quite likely because the nerves become very sensitive. However, dentists can clean out the infected teeth tissue. That is all that root canal therapy entails.

Note that ‘root canal’ is not a treatment. Instead, it’s the inner part of the tooth. The procedure to clean it out is known as root canal therapy. However, ‘root canal’ is often used to refer to the procedure.

How Is It Performed?

First, the dentist cleans out the root canal. Under local anesthesia, they drill a hole into the tooth to gain access to the root canal. This enables the removal of the infected tissues.

Next, the dentist disinfects the root canal with antibiotics and fluoride. This is effective in killing off residual microbes.

The last step is to fill the tooth with a unique material known as “gutta-percha” before the root canal is completely sealed off.

After the root canal is cleaned out, the tooth loses some strength. It also loses the nourishment it derives from the dental pulp. That is why a dental crown or filling is necessary after a root canal treatment to support the weak tooth.

Please book an appointment with us at Pocahontas Dental Associates to see a root canal specialist near you.

Can I Get Root Canal Treatment From An Emergency Dentist?

Yes, you can. Remember when we said that an infection in the root canal often comes with severe toothache? Well, guess what’s a dental emergency? Severe toothache! It doesn’t end there. Signs that you need emergency root canal treatment include:

• Intolerable Pain: When you begin to feel constant and severe toothache, you should see the emergency dentist immediately. The infected teeth’ roots might cause excruciating pains.
• Abscess/Pus: An infected tooth can cause pus to come out from the tooth. This symptom is an obvious sign that you need immediate dental care.
• The pus might begin to cause bad breath and awkward taste inside the mouth. This is also a sign that the infection is getting worse. It would help if you saw an emergency dentist near you.
• Stained Tooth: Foods, drinks, and drugs are the more common culprits of tooth stains. However, a stained tooth can also be caused by infected tooth’ roots.
• If you also observe that the sudden pain comes with extreme sensitivity to cold or hot stuff, you need to see the emergency dentist immediately.

If you notice any of these symptoms, do not hesitate to reach out to our emergency dentist at Pocahontas Dental Associates. We have highly qualified and well-trained professionals ready to offer you the best standard of root canal therapy obtainable anywhere.

We understand that the most typical concern about the procedure is painful. You should know that root canals are relatively painless procedures.

The pain felt is caused by the infection in the root canal, and this goes away when it is cleaned out. Some tenderness may be felt after the procedure, but this goes away with the use of painkillers.