This is when the nerve inside the tooth dies and it causes pain. Treatment options available are to either remove the tooth or remove the nerve. It is obviously better to remove the nerve and fill the root canal as the pain will go away and the patient can keep the tooth. But when a tooth’s nerve is removed the tooth becomes brittle and may fracture or break depending on how much of the tooth has been damaged by decay. Therefore root treated teeth often need crowning (capping) to prevent them from breaking.

What makes a root treated tooth successful and gives it longevity is the quality of the root canal treatment. This means that all the canals need to be found, opened up and thoroughly cleaned to the full length of the root. The root canals are then filled with a rubber based filling material and a root canal sealer. This process can take between 2 and 3 hours over 1 or 2 visits. It is essential that the treatment is performed under microscopic magnification to achieve the best long term results.