How Can I Prepare for My Root Canal Therapy?
One of the main goals of every family dentist is to prevent the buildup of plaque on patients' teeth and ensure that their teeth remain strong and free from enamel erosion. By understanding what plaque is and what causes it, you can know exactly what it takes to prevent it from accumulating on the surface of teeth.
How to prepare for root canal therapy
What happens during the procedure?
Getting root canal therapy requires one or more visits to the dentist. During your visit, your dentist will take an X-ray of your mouth to determine if there is an infection in the surrounding bone, then they will use local anesthesia to numb the area around the tooth.
Once the anesthesia has been applied, your dentist will place a rubber dam around the tooth to keep the area dry. Your dentist will then drill a hole in the infected tooth to gain access to it before removing the pulp and nerves and cleaning out the remaining part of the tooth. After the tooth has been cleaned, your dentist will seal it to prevent infection and contamination from saliva and food.
During your next visit, your dentist will continue the root canal therapy by sealing the interior of the tooth with a sealer paste, which is placed in the tooth’s root canal. After the interior has been sealed, the next step is to close up the access hole drilled in the tooth with a filling.
The final step is the restoration of the tooth, usually done with a dental crown, which is placed on top of the remaining tooth to protect it from infection and damage. The dental crown can be made in your dentist’s office or in a dental laboratory.
What to do before undergoing root canal therapy
Ask questions
One of the most important things to do before your root canal therapy is to ask your dentist any questions you have about the procedure and aftercare. Find out if you will need someone to drive you home, if you need pain killers after the procedure, when you can eat regular food and any other questions you might have.
Be in good health
Before undergoing root canal therapy, make sure you are in good health and get enough rest the night before the procedure because your body and immune system should to be in good condition to speed up the recovery process.
Have plenty of ice at home
After undergoing the procedure, your cheeks will likely be swollen, leaving you in some pain. You can relieve the pain by putting an ice pack over the swollen area, so make sure you have plenty of ice at home before going to the dentist.
Conclusion
Root canal therapy is used to help save your tooth when it is infected, but the procedure can also leave you in pain. Talk to your dentist to get all the necessary information you need before you get the procedure done.
Request an appointment here or call Calabasas Dental Care at (818) 591-2480 for an appointment in our Calabasas office.