Emergency Dentistry
White Mountain Icon | Ogden, UT | Pleasant Valley

Dental Emergencies and Root Canal Therapy in Ogden, UT

Contact Us

Dental emergencies are quite frightening and often painful. Prompt treatment is almost always required to alleviate pain and ensure the teeth have the best possible chance of survival. Additionally, having a root canal done on a tooth is the treatment of choice to save a tooth that otherwise would die and have to be removed. At Pleasant Valley Cosmetic & Laser Dental, we provide dental emergency treatments and root canal therapy in Ogden, UT.

A Dentist Fixing Womans Teeth | Ogden, UT | Pleasant Valley

Types of Dental Emergencies

Here are the various types of dental emergencies we provide at Pleasant Valley Cosmetic & Laser Dental:

  • Avulsed tooth (tooth knocked out)
  • Lost filling or crown
  • Cracked or broken teeth
  • Dislodged/loose teeth

The Importance of Treating Dental Emergencies

Sometimes, teeth become fractured by trauma, grinding, or biting complex objects. In other cases, fillings, crowns, and other restorative devices can be damaged or entirely fall out of the mouth. If there is severe pain, it is essential to contact our office immediately. The pain caused by dental emergencies almost always gets worse without treatment, and dental issues can seriously jeopardize physical health.

Root Canal Therapy

Root canal therapy is needed when the nerve of a tooth is affected by decay or infection. In order to save the tooth, the pulp (the living tissue inside the tooth), nerves, bacteria, and any decay are removed and the resulting space is filled with special, medicated, dental materials, which restore the tooth to its full function.

Having a root canal done on a tooth is the treatment of choice to save a tooth that otherwise would die and have to be removed. Many patients believe that removing a tooth that has problems is the solution, but what is not realized is that extracting (pulling) a tooth will ultimately be more costly and cause significant problems for adjacent teeth.

Root canal treatment is highly successful and usually lasts a lifetime, although on occasion, a tooth will have to be retreated due to new infections.

Signs and symptoms for possible root canal therapy:

  • An abscess (or pimple) on the gums.
  • Sensitivity to hot and cold.
  • Severe toothache pain.
  • Sometimes no symptoms are present.
  • Swelling and/or tenderness.

Reasons for root canal therapy:

  • Decay has reached the tooth pulp (the living tissue inside the tooth).
  • Infection or abscess have developed inside the tooth or at the root tip.
  • Injury or trauma to the tooth.

What does root canal therapy involve?

A root canal procedure requires one or more appointments and can be performed by a dentist or endodontist (a root canal specialist).

While the tooth is numb, a rubber dam (a sheet of rubber) will be placed around the tooth to keep it dry and free of saliva. An access opening is made on top of the tooth and a series of root canal files are placed into the opening, one at a time, removing the pulp, nerve tissue, and bacteria. If tooth decay is present, it will also be removed with special dental instruments.

Once the tooth is thoroughly cleaned, it will be sealed with either a permanent filling or, if additional appointments are needed, a temporary filling will be placed.

At the next appointment, usually a week later, the roots and the inside cavity of the tooth will be filled and sealed with special dental materials. A filling will be placed to cover the opening on top of the tooth. In addition, all teeth that have root canal treatment should have a crown (cap) placed. This will protect the tooth and prevent it from breaking, and restore it to its full function.

After treatment, your tooth may still be sensitive, but this will subside as the inflammation diminishes and the tooth has healed.

You will be given care instructions after each appointment. Good oral hygiene practices and regular dental visits will aid in the life of your root canal treatment.

Benefit from our dental emergency treatments in Ogden, UT!

Share by: