Bad news at your last dental visit: You have a decayed tooth. And not just in the enamel—the decay has invaded the tooth's inner pulp and the resulting infection is threatening the supporting bone structure.

You're thinking that tooth is toast. Then comes the good news: your dentist believes the tooth can be rescued with a root canal treatment.

But then you begin thinking about how often Uncle Sid says he'd rather undergo a colonoscopy than have a root canal. Is the procedure really as painful and uncomfortable as popular culture says it is? What is a root canal really like?

First step: Things go numb. Uncle Sid is wrong: A root canal treatment is painless because your dentist will first make sure the entire area involving the tooth is anesthetized. This does involve injecting the local anesthetic deep within the tissues, but you won't even feel the needle prick thanks to topical anesthesia applied to the surface gums.

Second step: Drilling deep. After applying a protective dam to isolate the infected tooth from its neighbors, your dentist will drill a small access hole through the enamel and dentin to reach the pulp and root canals. If it's one of the larger back teeth, the access hole is usually drilled in the tooth's biting surface; in a front tooth, the hole is usually located on the tongue side.

Third Step: Removing diseased tissue. Using special instruments, your dentist will remove the diseased tissue in the pulp and root canals, essentially stopping the infection and any tooth pain you've been experiencing. The empty pulp chamber and canals are often then disinfected with a special antibacterial solution.

Fourth Step: Protecting the tooth. After some shaping, the pulp chamber and root canals are filled with a special filling to prevent further infection. The access hole is then filled and sealed to complete the procedure. At some point in the future, the tooth typically will need a crown to add support and further protection.

You may have some minor discomfort afterward, but this can usually be managed with a mild pain reliever like ibuprofen or acetaminophen. After a week or so, you'll be good as new—and so will your tooth.

If you would like more information on root canal therapy, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “A Step-By-Step Guide to Root Canal Treatment.”

You might be a bit apprehensive if your dentist recommends a root canal treatment, especially if it's your first. That's understandable: Popular culture has portrayed the root canal as an unpleasant experience.

But as a routine dental procedure, root canal treatments have been responsible for saving millions of decayed teeth. And, with local anesthesia, the procedure is painless. In fact, a root canal treatment stops pain that often results from advanced tooth decay.

So, let's take the mystery out of the root canal. Here's the 411 on this vital but often misunderstood dental procedure.

Why the name “root canal”? The terms for the procedure—root canal therapy, root canal treatment or simply “root canal”—arise from one of the principal parts of the tooth involved, root canals. These are tiny passageways that lead from the tooth's innermost layer, the pulp, to the tooth roots. While treatment often focuses on decay or diseased tissue within the pulp, the root canals can be infected too and must be included in the later filling process.

Who can perform a root canal? All general dentists are trained in basic root canal procedures. Depending on your tooth's condition, your family dentist may be able to perform it. But if your tooth has an intricate root canal network or some other complication, you may need an endodontist, a specialist in interior tooth and root treatments. Endodontists can perform advanced root canal techniques and have the specialized equipment to handle intricate cases.

What happens during a root canal? Although details may vary depending on the type of tooth and extent of decay, there's a basic process for all root canal procedures. After numbing the tooth and surrounding tissues, the dentist drills into the tooth to access the inner pulp chamber and root canals, then removes the diseased tissue and disinfects the empty chamber and canals. After preparing the canals, the dentist then fills the empty spaces. This, and subsequent sealing and crowning, protects the tooth from future decay.

After the procedure you may have some minor soreness for a few days, which is usually manageable with mild pain relievers like ibuprofen or acetaminophen. This discomfort will diminish with time, and your tooth will have a new lease on life.

If you would like more information on root canal treatment, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Root Canal Treatment.”

You have a wonderful pediatric dentist who's great with kids. Their dental office is a children's wonderland with cheerful colors, toys and a staff that tries to make things fun. But no matter what you do—including rewards and positive praise—it's not enough to calm your child's anxiety during dental visits.

Even with the most conducive clinical environment and parental efforts, some children still have an inordinate fear of seeing the dentist. Their anxiety could be a roadblock to getting the treatment they need to maintain good oral health and development. And if that fear carries over into adulthood, they may get into the habit of postponing needed care.

But dentists have an important tool they can use to help children relax: conscious sedation therapy. Using proven sedation medication, dentists can place patients in varying degrees of suppressed consciousness.

Although often used in conjunction, sedation is not the same as anesthesia. The latter is used to eliminate pain during dental procedures. Sedation, on the other hand, aims to calm the negative emotions generated by dental anxiety. A child under sedation can still breathe normally without assistance and respond to physical stimulation or verbal commands.

Sedation medications can be administered orally, usually in syrup form, or with an intravenous (IV) drip. Two of the more popular drugs are Midazolam and Hydroxyzine, both of which act fast and then leave the body quickly after the procedure. These types of sedation drugs have a very low risk of side effects compared to general anesthesia.

While under sedation, the child's vital signs (heart rate, respiration, blood pressure, etc.) are continuously monitored. Afterward, they'll wait in recovery until their vital signs are back to their pre-sedation levels. They can then go home to rest for the remainder of the day, and then usually return to school or other normal activities the following day.

Besides making it easier for a child to receive needed dental care, conscious sedation can also make the overall visit more pleasant, and lead to more positive memories of the experience. This may indeed help them later in life to overcome any lingering anxiety and continue regular dental care throughout adulthood.

If you would like more information on reducing your child's dental visit anxiety, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Sedation Dentistry for Kids.”