At the initial visit a health history is taken. Please bring in a list of any medications being taken and the names of any physicians you may be seeing.
A diagnosis is needed to see which tooth hurts. Please do not take pain medication prior to the appointment. I have to test the teeth to see what hurts and if a root canal will eliminate the pain. A root canal will not be done unless I can determine which tooth hurts.
Once the painful tooth is isolated, you will be anesthetized. Only local anesthetic is used and is administered in a number of ways: block, infiltration, PDL, and intraosseous. If the tooth is sensitive to cold, you will get so numb that I can put ice on the tooth without pain. If you are sensitive to biting, then you will get so numb that you can bite down on the tooth without pain.
Once anesthetized, the tooth is isolated with a dental dam. The pulp is accessed through the biting surface of the tooth. The canals are located with the aid of a surgical microscope and cleaned out to the tip of the root. Hand instruments as well as rotary instruments are used. After cleaning and shaping, the canals are sealed with a plastic rubbery type filling material and a temporary filling is placed on the surface of the tooth. An appointment with your general dentist to place a more permanent type of filling or a crown on that tooth is necessary.
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