When a General Dentist May Recommend a Root Canal
Seeing a general dentist every six months for regular cleaning and checkup and possibly fillings are common, but they can also perform a root canal. The regular cleanings you receive at the general dentist's office will remove any plaque buildup on your teeth, and this will help prevent gum disease. The fillings you receive are important because they prevent or at least delay further problems down the road. Your general dentist can also perform many other more complicated procedures, too.
If your dentist finds that you have a pocket of pus forming in any part of the tooth, it is an indication that you have an infection in the pulp of the tooth. The general dentist cannot fix this problem with a filling, and they will then recommend having a root canal in order to remedy the problem once and for all. Fortunately, this can be achieved in their office.
The tooth is dying
Once a tooth is found to be abscessed and therefore infected, it is proof that the tooth is dying because the infection is killing the tooth more as time goes on. Generally, this process can be incredibly painful for the patient, and could cause issues with eating and speaking properly. While any damaged portion of the tooth will have to go, the procedure will stop the infection from killing any more of the tooth and improve the odds that you will keep it for a long time.
The problem will not go away
If you leave a root canal tooth untreated, there is no doubt that you will eventually lose the tooth. There is no way the infected pulp can remain in place without things getting worse because bacteria outside the tooth now have a way to get into the pulp so that even if you kill the infection with antibiotics, more bacteria will eventually enter and infect you all over again. Unfortunately, you'll have to get this procedure if you want to preserve your oral health.
There have been cases in the past where a patient needed a root canal and chose to do nothing, and this led to serious problems, even death. Even if you ignore the problem for now, you are likely to become sick and wind up running up medical bills, time lost from work, and strain on the people who care about you when the problem could have been fixed by getting the this procedure when you need it.
Request an appointment here: https://artisandentalbellevue.com or call Artisan Dental at (425) 454-2005 for an appointment in our Bellevue office.
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