Your Root Canal: What to Expect
When we perform root canals at our dental practice, we take every precaution to make the two-appointment experience efficient and relaxing.
At the first appointment, you will receive a numbing agent, or anesthetic, to relieve you of any sensation at the area of treatment. Next, Dr. Samantha Billings will make a small hole in the tooth and begin to extract the infected pulp and nerve from the inside of the tooth.
When the tooth is cleared of the infection, she will sanitize the interior of the tooth, place a strengthening material in the canals and then place a temporary filling to seal the area. You will be able to go home at this point, and you will have the use of your tooth, although you should ideally avoid putting pressure on it during eating.
At your second appointment, the temporary filling will be removed, and she will inspect the site. This ensures that the root canal has worked and the interior is completely free of bacteria and infection. When Dr. Billings is satisfied with the root canal treatment, she will begin the process of restoring the damaged tooth structure.