Have you ever experienced an unbearable toothache for a night? Undergoing the emergency root canal procedure might seem like a daunting task to many people as they think the procedure is a painful one. However, an emergency root canal can become a lifesaver if you find yourself handling persistent tooth pain. The unbearable pain is a result of a severely damaged tooth. The pain might also result from an infection that has made its way to your tooth nerves and pulp.

Note many things may damage your tooth, leaving the pulp compartment compromised. So if this is your case, you want to seek dental care from your dentist. The earlier you pay a visit to your dentist, the higher the chances of fighting the dental issues. Scheduling an appointment with a well-skilled and experienced dentist is highly recommended.

At The Whittier Dentist, we are ready to perform an emergency root canal procedure and help you restore your oral health quickly. Although the process has a reputation for being painful, we are here to inform you that infection usually causes pain in your tooth. We help our patients experience relief as soon as possible by undergoing the procedure. Are you in or around xxx and want to undergo an emergency root canal? Do not hesitate to contact our professional dentists.

What is an Emergency Root Canal?

An emergency root canal is a dental procedure to save damaged or infected teeth. The dental process involves removing pulp or the damaged tissues and sealing the surface to prevent bacteria from reentering. A qualified dentist or endodontist performs the procedure. After the procedure, they place a crown on the surface to keep the tooth secure and sturdy.

How Do I Know Whether I Need an Emergency Root Canal Procedure?

The best way to know whether you need an emergency root canal is by visiting your dentist. However, there are still many warning symptoms you should look out for. You want to see your dentist as soon as possible when you notice any signs. The earlier you visit your dentist, the more likely they will treat your problem. The following are the common symptoms you require an emergency root canal:                     

  • Persistent Pain

The most common sign you require a root canal is persistent tooth pain. The pain might bother you anytime, either daytime or nighttime. Although the pain might go away sometimes, it will still come back. You might experience the pain deeper in the bone of the tooth. Also, you might feel a sharp pain in your jaw, face, or other teeth.

However, tooth pain might result from other causes like cavities, damaged filling, or gum diseases. Regardless of the cause, visit your dentist whenever you experience tooth pain, especially when it is persistent. Remember, early diagnosis and treatment usually lead to the best outcomes.

  • Tooth Discoloration

Your teeth may become discolored as a result of discoloration. Breakdown in your internal tissues and trauma in your teeth may damage your tooth root and give it a grayish appearance. If the tooth has an insufficient blood supply, tooth pulps can die from the tooth canal. Note the teeth discoloration might be a result of other causes. But it is imperative to visit your dentist as soon as you notice the tooth discoloration.

  • Sensitivity to Cold and Heat

Do your teeth hurt when you drink a cup of a hot tea or take cold foods? Perhaps your teeth feel sensitive when you drink a cup of icy cold water or eat ice cream. The sensitivity could be a sharp pain or a dull ache. So, you require a root canal procedure if the pain lingers for an extended period, even when you stop taking the cold or hot foods.

When the teeth hurt once you take a hot or cold drink, it might indicate your nerves and blood vessels are damaged or infected.

  • Swollen Gums

If you experience swollen gums around a painful tooth, this could be a symptom you need an emergency root canal. Sometimes the swelling might come, disappear and come again. The swollen gum might be painful or tender once you touch it. Remember, the swelling results from acidic waste materials of dead pulp tissues. Again you might see or feel a pimple in your tooth gum. The pimple is known as an abscess or a gum boil. The pimple might release discharge to your teeth and make your breath smell bad or give you an unpleasant odor.

  • A Cracked or Chipped Tooth

If you have cracked or chipped a tooth in an automobile accident or chewing, bacteria may invade your tooth and cause infection and inflammation. Even when your tooth sustains injuries but does not crack or chip, the suffered injuries might damage your tooth nerves. The tooth nerve may become inflamed, causing tooth pain and sensitivity, which require an emergency root canal.

How to prepare for Root Canal Treatment

Before you visit a medical expert for root canal treatment, it is best to prepare. The preparations will ensure the process and the recovery is comfortable. The following are the preparations you want to observe:

  • Avoid taking alcohol and tobacco 24 hours before the procedure
  • Eat before the procedure, as eating anything hours after the process may be challenging.
  • Take a painkiller like ibuprofen hours before the procedure
  • Ask questions on the entire procedure and foods to eat after the process
  • Sleep the whole night before and after the procedure to let your body perform repairs while resting.

Emergency Root Canal Procedure

An endodontist or a dentist can perform the emergency root canal procedure. The professionals are specialized in determining the causes, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of dental diseases. Do you want to undergo the emergency root canal procedure? You want to visit a well-trained and experienced dentist or endodontist. The process will involve the following steps:

Performing an X-ray

The endodontist will perform an X-ray to observe the root canal and determine whether you have any signs of infection around the tooth bone. The dental expert uses anesthesia to numb the tooth surface. Since the nerve is dead, you might not require the anesthesia, but many dental experts use the anesthesia to ensure the patients feel comfortable and relaxed during the procedure             

Keeping the Surface Dry and Drilling

The dentist places a rubber dam around the tooth to keep the area dry and free from your saliva. Next, the dental expert drills the surface to access the tooth root. After drilling, they remove the damaged tooth tissues pulp and bacteria from the affected tooth. The dentist uses a series of files to clean out the surface. They place the files on the holes to scrub and scrape the sides of your root canals. After scrapping the sides of the root canal, the dentist sprays sodium hypochlorite to flush away any debris.

Sealing the Tooth

After the root canal cleaning, the dentist seals the tooth. Several dentists wait for seven days before they fill the teeth. For example, if you have an infection, the dentist puts medication in your tooth to treat the infection. Other dentists choose to seal your tooth during the same appointment after it is cleaned. When the dentist chooses not to fill the tooth during the appointment day, they place a temporary filling to keep away the saliva and food particles.

During the next appointment to seal the tooth, the dentist will use a rubber compound (gutta Percha) and a sealer paste and place them into your tooth. Lastly, the dental expert will place a filling in the hole drilled during the start of the root canal procedure.

Tooth Restoration

The last step in the root canal procedure involves tooth restoration. Every tooth needs a root canal, especially the ones with extensive decay. Due to this, you might require a crown or any other restoration to protect the tooth and prevent it from breaking. The dentist will also discuss any additional dental care practices you need.

Root Canal Recovery

After your dentist performs a root canal, your mouth will remain numb for hours. You want to wait until the numbness disappears before taking any meal. For the first few days after the process, your teeth may be sensitive due to tissue inflammation. You can ease the sensitivity using pain medications, including Ibuprofen and naproxen.

You want to avoid chewing with the tooth until the dentist completes the procedure with a permanent filling or a crown. Avoiding chewing food keeps the area clean and prevents the fragile tooth from cracking before it is restored fully. Again, you want to brush and flush your teeth using an antiseptic mouthwash.

The Cost of Root Canal

The root canal cost varies depending on the severity of your problem and the affected tooth. An estimated cost of a root canal (excluding dental restoration procedure), when performed by a dentist, ranges from $500 to $1000 for an incisor. When treating a molar, the cost is $800 to $1500 for a molar. The fees are 50%higher when attended by an endodontist.

Root Canal Risks and Complications

After undergoing the root canal procedure, you might experience new infections. The following are the main reasons why you might develop complications after the dental procedure:

  • An undetected crack in your other tooth
  • Leaving one of your root canals uncleaned
  • Breakdown of the inner sealing material as time passes after the process allowing bacteria to invade the tooth.
  • A problem resulting from the restoration that will enable bacteria to invade the internal of your tooth

Sometimes, you might fix the problem through retreatment. Other times you might require surgery to keep your teeth healthy. The common retreatment procedure is root-end resection or apicoectomy. The procedures relieve you from infections and inflammation in the bony surface around your root tooth. The dentist opens the gum tissue and removes the infected root tissues during the procedure. In other cases, the dentist removes the end of the root canal. Next, they place a filling at the root canal to seal it.

What are the Benefits of the Root Canal Procedure?

As discussed above, the root canal procedure is a treatment option for patients facing extensive tooth pain, tooth decay, and therapeutic needs requiring endodontic therapy. Although you have alternatives like tooth extraction, these options are less beneficial than root canal procedures. The following are the main benefits why you should undergo a root canal procedure than other dental options:

Alleviates Pain

No one will like to experience a throbbing toothache. The pain associated with a toothache can distract you from carrying out your regular duties. Not only devastate your productivity, but the toothache can also ruin your time to relax. The most pain you associate with the root canal does not arise from the dental procedure or the recovery process but is caused by the dental pulp in the tooth. Note the dental root canal procedure involves cleaning the bacteria and the damaged nerves that cause pain in your tooth. The surgeon also has a variety of anesthesia to choose from while performing the procedure.

Prevent Future Serious Infections

Note that infection in your tooth will not stop at the single tooth. The infection can spread to other teeth or body parts, destroying your oral health and smile. When you go for dental treatment, you will more likely experience pain, swelling, and infection in your gums, teeth, and mouth tissues. Remember, the infection can be severe and life-threatening. But with root canal treatment, you will lower the potential risks of developing and spreading infection from the affected tooth.

Eliminate Sensitivity

You like ice cold drinks during hot summer or even a warm drink during cold winter nights; however, with the infected teeth, this experience is painful. The significant benefit of this procedure is that it removes the damaged nerves so you can enjoy all the different foods you wish to take.

The Root Canals are Easy and Quicky

When you undergo tooth extraction, you will likely suffer huge expenses, including dental follow-ups required for implant denture. Not to mention, the recovery process may take several weeks. For example, an implant procedure may take 12 months before the tooth becomes firm. Again you also require much time to maintain the prosthetic. Alternatively, when you undergo an emergency root canal, the doctor can perform the procedure in a single appointment which in many cases takes 60 minutes. Note the length of the process can vary based on the type of dental expert you are working with.

Maintain Your Natural Smile

The main target of undergoing the root canal is to save your tooth and maintain a white smile. Although the dentist can use a prosthetic to restore your teeth, nothing will ever function, feel or look like the natural teeth. Therefore, if you wish to keep enjoying your food without changing the appearance of your teeth, an emergency root canal is the best option. So, contact our dental experts to help you undergo the dental procedure within one dental appointment.

Prevent the Problem of Shifting Teeth

Are you aware that your teeth usually provide support to each other? Therefore when you extract a tooth because of tooth decay, it might cause the surrounding teeth to move or shift and affect your ability to chew. How would you feel if you could not chew your favorite foods because you cannot chew them anymore? However, undergoing an emergency root canal only removes a portion of your tooth and saves the rest. So, the dental procedure ensures you can chew your favorite foods and maintain your smile.

Insurance Coverage

Many dental insurance plans cover most endodontic treatments. But, many plans partially or do not cover cosmetic and restorative dental procedures. The prosthetic and dental implant procedure will require you to pay for the treatment out of your pocket.

In California, although the tooth extraction might seem to be less than the costs of an emergency root canal, the other implants cost around $3,000 to $4500, bridges($2000 to $15000), dentures ($600 to $1000) and crown cost within ($800 and $1700). We say an emergency root canal is the least expensive option.

Pain-Free

When you think about the root canal, maybe you picture the procedure as painful. The pain is associated with the infected pulp and the decaying root that the procedure targets cleaning. Many patients experience little or no discomfort during the root canal procedure. Patients who undergo the process describe sitting times as less painful than a tooth extraction. So, you want to consider the root canal rather than other dental treatment options.

Tips to prevent Root Canal

It is better to keep your smile healthy and beautiful than to try to fix your teeth after tooth decay. You may have a root canal after tooth decay or when your teeth receive injuries after an accident. The following are preventive care methods you may prevent root canal :

Brushing and Flossing

Brushing and flossing is a straightforward method of preventing root canals. Practicing oral hygiene involves keeping your teeth clean. You want to brush your teeth twice a day, or if able, you can brush after every meal. After brushing, you don't have to skip flossing. Flossing removes food that remains trapped between teeth. When the food remains between your teeth, it can result in bad breath and decay and may damage teeth. You want to floss daily to remove food remains and damage root bacteria.

Avoid Hard and Sticky Foods

Hard foods stick to your teeth. Biting candies and ice cubes can crack your teeth. Small cracks on your teeth allow bacteria to stay inside, leaving your teeth exposed to infection and rotting. When you have weakened teeth, you want to avoid eating hard foods, including nuts, seeds, apples, popcorn kernels, raw carrots, etc. Avoiding consuming the listed foods may help you to avoid root canals in the future.

Stick foods, especially those made from sugar, remain in your teeth longer. The sugar present in sticky foods feeds bacteria living in your mouth. Later, the bacteria results in tooth decay.

Watch What You Drink

Sugary drinks like soda are bad for your teeth. Again, fruit juices, especially citrus ones, are bad for your teeth. Acids in citrus fruits easily damage your teeth. Sugar in most fruit juices feeds bacteria in the mouth, resulting in tooth decay.

Alcoholic beverages like wine and beer are also acidic, damaging your teeth. If you take alcoholic drinks, you want to rinse your mouth with clean water between beverages to reduce the acidity level.

Again, the sparkling water you sip can weaken your teeth. Carbonated beverages contain carbonic acid, which erodes your tooth enamel and weakens your teeth.

Have Regular Teeth Checkups

It may be challenging to notice tooth decay on your own. However, your dentist can quickly see the warning signs at the early stages. Visiting the dentist regularly for check-ups and cleaning may help the dentist spot any problems before they worsen. You must note that when your tooth decays, they require severe treatments like root extraction, dental implants, and root canal.

If you feel slight pain in your tooth, you don't want to ignore it. The pain indicates that your teeth have a problem; if you ignore them, they could worsen. You want to have your dentist check your teeth immediately if you feel the pain to avoid undergoing severe treatment later.

Wear a Mouthguard

If you play sports, you want to wear a mouth guard. A mouth guard protects your teeth from having cracks or being knocked out when playing. If your teeth obtain minor cracks, they result in root canals. Again, if you grind your teeth at night time, you want to wear a mouthguard to bed. Grinding your teeth while asleep can damage your teeth, but a mouth guard can prevent the damage. You want to speak with your dentist to make a mouth guard fitted for your mouth to avoid injuries.

Contact an Whittier Emergency Dentist Expert Near Me

Do you want to undergo an emergency root canal in Los Angeles? You want to act quickly since dental health care can help you save your tooth. The dental procedure has many benefits, including preventing infections and boosting your general dental health. However, you require the services of an experienced and well-trained dentist.

At The Whittier Dentist, our dentists are ready to help you undergo the dental procedure. We will examine you, determine whether you are the right candidate for the process, and guide you on what to do after the procedure. Contact us at 562-632-1223, and we will schedule an appointment.