Root Canal - Endodontics

Springfield, Holyoke, Longmeadow, and Wilbraham, MA Endodontist

At Baystate Dental we want to help you keep as many of your natural teeth as possible. While dental implants, dentures and dental bridges are very effective in filling gaps in your smile, they are nothing like having your own healthy teeth. Baystate Dental has several highly qualified and experienced endodontists who can save badly damaged teeth by giving them endodontic therapy.

Endodontics is dentistry for the tooth interior – the tooth roots and their interior space, which is called the root canal, and the interior of the visible part of the tooth, the crown. The space inside the crown is called the pulp chamber.

How Teeth Become Infected

There are always bacteria in the mouth and it is the goal of brushing and flossing to keep their numbers down. When dental hygiene is neglected, they multiply and spread. Although tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the body, even harder than bone, bacterial excretions can penetrate it because they are so acidic.

There are two hard layers protecting the tooth’s interior:

• The outer layer is the enamel
• Beneath the enamel is the yellow dentin layer

Tooth pulp inside the pulp chamber and root canals consists of nerves, arteries, veins, and connective tissue. The root canal is an extension of the pulp chamber and runs to the tip of the tooth in the jawbone. The tip is open to allow blood vessels and nerves to enter it, connecting it to the body’s circulatory system and nervous system.

The teeth in the front of the mouth have one root, while teeth in the back may have two, three or four roots. The infection of gum disease develops when bacteria are allowed to multiply and flourish. They spread into every crevice they can find. They get between a tooth and its surrounding gum tissue and spread down through the gums and into tooth roots. Or they penetrate a tooth crown all the way to the pulp chamber.

Please see our page on Gum Disease for more information.

Symptoms of an Infected Tooth

If you have an infected tooth, you may experience one or more symptoms, including:

• Toothache – because the tooth’s nerve is being destroyed by bacteria
• Swelling of the gums
• Persistent bad taste in the mouth
• Discoloration of the tooth
• Sensitivity to heat and cold

The Root Canal Procedure

Your endodontist will numb the area first, and if you would like to take advantage of our sedation dentistry, you are welcome to do that. He or she will thoroughly clean the tooth and its nearby gums, removing all bacteria, debris and decay. A laser may be used to do some of this cleaning work. Our soft tissue laser works painlessly, quickly, and safely to remove unwanted tissue and seal the remaining tissue to prevent bleeding.

Usually, if the root is decayed and infected, the visible crown is also. It will be shaped to hold a tooth crown and the root will be filled with a clean dental cement to seal bacteria out.

In past years, root canals were long and painful procedures and earned a reputation for being something to dread. That is long gone. Modern dentistry has far superior tools and methods, such as the precise and effective laser, and there is no longer any reason to be apprehensive about a root canal procedure.

If you are experiencing any symptoms of an infected tooth, please contact our endodontist right away at Baystate Dental. Delay is not in your interests. One of our experienced endodontists will evaluate your dental condition at one of our convenient locations in Springfield, MA, and you will be on your way to pain relief and improved dental health. Contact us for more information on root canals and endodontics.