Root Canals

If a cavity gets out of hand, a root canal operation can be the only way to save the tooth. Our team at Cascade Family Dental uses state-of-the-art practices to ensure your comfort during a root canal operation.

Average procedure time: 1–2 hours

When a cavity progresses too far, it can begin to affect the root of a tooth – and eventually, the pulp (the inner nerves and blood vessels) can become infected. When that happens, a root canal treatment is the best option to preserve the natural tooth. Many patients believe that removing a tooth that has problems is the only solution, not realizing that extracting a tooth will ultimately cause more problems for adjacent teeth.

What is a root canal?

At Cascade Family dental, a well-performed root canal is no less comfortable than a cavity filling. However, the process of a root canal is more complicated, and requires a longer sitting time. The infected pulp must be removed by our dentist, and the surrounding area cleaned to eliminate the risk of re-infection. A composite filling is used to fill the empty space, and finally, the outside of the tooth will be capped with a crown, to restore the tooth to its original state of function and appearance.

If the infection has progressed too far to be treated with a root canal, other options exist to remedy the condition. Talk to us if you have any questions about root canal treatments, or if you think you need a root canal.