Root Canal Treatment in London

Root canal treatment is a dental procedure to treat infection at the centre of a tooth (the root canal system). Root canal treatment is also called endodontics. The infection is caused by bacteria that live in the mouth and invade the tooth when

  • Tooth decay occurs
  • Fillings leak
  • Teeth are damaged by trauma, such as a fall 

When do I need a root canal treatment?

Root canal treatment is only required when it is clear that the soft tissue at the centre of the tooth, called the pulp, has been damaged by a bacterial infection.

At our London dental practice, we can test your teeth and use X-rays to establish whether a bacterial infection has occurred.

What are the symptoms of pulp infection?

The symptoms of a pulp infection include:

  • Pain when eating or drinking hot or cold food and drink
  • Pain when biting or chewing (in some cases)
  • The tooth may become loose

As the infection progresses, these symptoms often disappear as the pulp dies. Your tooth then appears to have healed, but in fact the infection is spreading through the root canal system. Eventually further symptoms occur, such as:

  • Pain when biting or chewing
  • Swelling of the gum near the affected tooth
  • Pus oozing from the affected tooth
  • Facial swelling
  • The tooth becoming darker in colour

Stages of a Root Canal Treatment

Preparation

Before you have root canal treatment, we will take a series of X-rays of the affected tooth. This will allow us to build up a clear picture of the root canal and assess the extent of any damage.

Anaesthetic

Root canal treatment is usually carried out under local anaesthetic.

Removing the pulp

We will open your tooth through the crown, the flat part at the top, to access the soft tissue at the centre of the tooth (pulp). They we will remove any infected pulp that remains.
 
If you have a dental abscess (a pus-filled swelling), we will be able to drain it at the same time.

Cleaning and filling the root canal

We  use a series of small files to enlarge the canals and make them a regular shape so they can be filled. This part of the treatment may take several hours to complete and may need to be carried out over a number of visits depending on the complexity of the case. Once the root has been filled, we will fill in the tooth and polish it using white filling.