Root Canal Therapy in Pasadena, CA

A root canal is a restorative treatment used to treat an infected tooth. When bacteria enter the center of the tooth, where the dental pulp is located, either from untreated tooth decay or dental trauma, the pulp becomes inflamed and forms an abscess, which is a pocket of pus.

This indicates that your tooth is infected and requires root canal therapy to prevent the infection from becoming more severe and spreading to other teeth or through the bloodstream. To treat the infection, we will remove the infected pulp along with the roots and thoroughly clean the inside canals and then refill the tooth with a special material to restore the strength and structure of the tooth.The tooth can survive without its dental pulp by feeding off nutrients from the surrounding tissues.

The tooth is often protected with a crown depending on its location and strength. Give us a call at Blue Door Dental to schedule a consultation.

How the Root Canal Process Works

1. Consultation

2. Local Anesthesia

3. Pulpectomy

4. Cleaning the Canals

5. Filling

6. Dental Crown

1

Consultation

Dr. Pacheco will examine your teeth and take digital x-rays to assess the severity of the infection and determine if a root canal is still viable.

2

Local Anesthesia

To numb your mouth, we will administer a local anesthetic that makes the procedure painless.

3

Pulpectomy

After making an access hole into the tooth with a dental drill to access the pulp chamber, special tools will be used to scrape out all of the dental pulp and the tooth’s roots.

4

Cleaning the Canals

Each canal in the tooth will be thoroughly cleaned and reshaped.

5

Filling

The tooth’s missing pulp will be replaced with a gutta-percha filling.

6

Dental Crown

The access hole will be sealed with a permanent filling and a crown may also be placed over the tooth.

Root Canal Options

Anterior root canals are performed on the front teeth. While this is less common, root canals are done a little differently in these thinner teeth with fewer canals. Firstly, we need to make an access hole in the back of the tooth to gain access to the pulp chamber because there isn’t enough space on the chewing surfaces of the teeth to make the access hole there.

After removing the infected pulp and roots, we clean the canals. The front teeth have fewer canals which often means we can do this faster and with fewer appointments. Since these teeth aren’t used for chewing, they will typically just receive a permanent filling instead of a crown.

Posterior

Posterior root canals are performed in the back teeth. Root canals are most commonly performed on the rear molars. These thicker teeth contain more canals and can be a little more time-consuming.

An access hole is made into the chewing surface of the tooth. After removing the pulp and roots, we will clean each of the tooth’s canals which can be up to 3 or 4 in one tooth. This may require multiple appointments to complete.

In that case, a temporary filling will be placed until we finish cleaning the canals. After filling the tooth with gutta-percha, a crown will be bonded to the tooth to protect it from breakage.

Anterior root canals are performed on the front teeth. While this is less common, root canals are done a little differently in these thinner teeth with fewer canals. Firstly, we need to make an access hole in the back of the tooth to gain access to the pulp chamber because there isn’t enough space on the chewing surfaces of the teeth to make the access hole there.

After removing the infected pulp and roots, we clean the canals. The front teeth have fewer canals which often means we can do this faster and with fewer appointments. Since these teeth aren’t used for chewing, they will typically just receive a permanent filling instead of a crown.

Posterior root canals are performed in the back teeth. Root canals are most commonly performed on the rear molars. These thicker teeth contain more canals and can be a little more time-consuming.

An access hole is made into the chewing surface of the tooth. After removing the pulp and roots, we will clean each of the tooth’s canals which can be up to 3 or 4 in one tooth. This may require multiple appointments to complete.

In that case, a temporary filling will be placed until we finish cleaning the canals. After filling the tooth with gutta-percha, a crown will be bonded to the tooth to protect it from breakage.

Frequently Asked Questions

No, the root canal procedure is painless because we use local anesthesia to numb your mouth and prevent you from feeling any pain. If you have dental anxiety, we can also offer you dental sedation to increase your comfort and help you feel relaxed.

However, the comfort level of a root canal is comparable to getting a dental filling. It is a minimally invasive procedure that isn’t painful. In fact, root canals remove the pain that is being caused by the infection.