Root Canal Treatment in Ajax

Tooth pain has a way of taking over your day. It keeps you awake at night. It makes eating on one side of your mouth impossible. A root canal stops that pain. It also saves the tooth you already have.

At Duffins Creek Dental, we treat infected and damaged teeth for patients across Ajax and Pickering Village.

Call us at (905) 683-2561 to book your visit.

Every tooth holds soft tissue inside it. Dentists call this tissue the pulp. It contains nerves and blood vessels.

Bacteria can reach the pulp through a deep cavity or a crack. The pulp then becomes inflamed or infected. That infection causes the pain you feel.

Root canal treatment removes the infected tissue from inside the tooth. We then clean and disinfect the space. Next we fill and seal it. Finally we close the opening with a filling. The tooth stays in your mouth. You keep your bite and your smile.

Some symptoms point to a problem inside the tooth. Watch for these signs:

• A toothache that will not go away
• Sharp pain when you bite down or chew
• Lasting sensitivity to hot or cold drinks
• A tooth that turns darker than the ones beside it
• Swelling or tenderness in the gum near the tooth
• A small pimple on the gum that drains
• A cracked or chipped tooth that hurts

Pain is not always present. Some infected teeth cause no symptoms at all. We often spot these on an X-ray during a regular checkup.

Book an appointment if any of these sound familiar. Early treatment protects the tooth and the bone around it.

Several things damage the pulp inside a tooth:

• Deep decay that reaches the centre of the tooth
• A crack or fracture in the tooth
• Repeated dental work on the same tooth
• An injury or blow to the mouth
  Advanced gum disease

Sometimes a tooth takes a hit during sport or a fall. It may look fine at first. The pulp can still die months later.

This is the question we hear most often. The answer surprises most patients.

A root canal relieves pain. It does not cause it. The infection creates the pain, and the treatment removes the source.

We freeze the area before we start. Most patients say the visit feels much like getting a filling. You may feel pressure, but you should not feel sharp pain.

Tell us if you feel anything uncomfortable during treatment. We will stop and add more freezing.

Some patients need more than freezing to feel calm. Dr. Claire offers two options.

Nitrous oxide. You breathe it through a small mask over your nose. It helps you relax during the visit. The effect wears off quickly afterward, so you can drive yourself home.

Oral sedation. You take a prescribed pill before your appointment. It leaves you calm and drowsy but still awake. You will need someone to drive you home.

Tell us about your anxiety when you book. We will talk through both options and pick the right one with you.

Some patients ask us to pull the tooth instead. We understand the thinking. Pulling a tooth sounds faster and cheaper.

It rarely works out that way. Losing a tooth creates new problems:

• Nearby teeth drift into the gap
• Your bite changes over time
• The jawbone in that spot shrinks
• Chewing gets harder on that side
• A bridge or implant costs more than a root canal

Your own tooth is still the best tooth. We recommend saving it whenever we can.

Cost depends on which tooth we treat and how many canals it has. Molars cost more than front teeth because they take more time. We accept most dental insurance plans. In most cases we bill your insurance provider directly. You pay only the balance.

We also participate in the Canadian Dental Care Plan. The CDCP covers root canal treatment under its endodontic services when the treatment meets its criteria. Some cases need approval first, and our team handles that paperwork for you.

We give you a written estimate before treatment starts. You will know the cost ahead of time.