If your smile sustains a major break or fracture in a tooth, this is a traumatic dental injury that requires attention to avoid tooth decay or infection, which can impact tooth stability. We can help preserve your tooth with endodontic treatments! In today’s blog, your Londonderry, NH, dentist talks about helping dental injuries with a root canal procedure.
Addressing Traumatic Dental Injuries
When a tooth is seriously injured, you need to seek treatment right away. A minor injury could expose the inner dentin and allow cavities to form. But serious breakage or fractures could expose the more sensitive inner pulp, which lead to painful infections that could cause tooth loss with time. You need more than a filling procedure or just a crown placement. You may need a root canal to protect the sensitive inner pulp and dentin, so you can enjoy lifelike results and a smile free of discomfort and the risk of tooth loss.
Root Canals and Surgery
Our team will take detailed digital x-rays and CT images of your smile to assess the risk to your inner tissues and to plan the treatment in detail. To ensure you stay comfortable and relaxed, our team will offer local anesthetic and even choose a sedation option so you enter a deep state of calm, with little to no memory of the procedure. Even people with dental anxiety or special needs can then undergo a comfortable and positive treatment experience!
With a root canal, we open the tooth to remove the tissues from within. We then clean the side of the tooth and add a special restorative filling material. The final step is to cap the tooth with a crown, which protects the interior and the remaining outer stricture. If the injury is located near the tips of tooth roots, or a fracture travels down to the lower portions of the roots, then we may conduct root canal surgery to target this area directly.
Protecting Your Smile
To help protect your smile, be sure you wear a mouthguard if you play full contact sports or practice boxing or martial arts. This can help limit the risk of traumatic dental injuries. We also suggest taking good care of your smile at home and with visits to your general dentist for regular cleanings, as keeping your smile free of tooth decay and dental infection can keep it strong and less susceptible to injury.
If you have any questions about endodontic treatment and traumatic dental injuries, then contact our team today.
Do You Have a Traumatic Dental Injury?
When you have a chipped or cracked tooth, we can offer help to preserve your smile and prevent discomfort. Contact My Dentist in Londonderry, NH at (603) 965-3407 to speak with our team and schedule your next visit.
