Cleaning and shaping your root canals

First your dentist makes an opening in your tooth and removes any filling and decay. Then your dentist removes unhealthy pulp with tiny flexible files. Using delicate up and down motions your dentist gently cleans and smoothes your canals to prepare them for the canal filling materials.

Filling your Root canals

After the pulp has been removed from your root canals and they have been smoothed, your dentist may fill the canals with tiny cone shaped pieces of gutta percha, a firm rubber-like material or use another dental material. A sealer cement is used to seal the filling material into place.

Restoring your tooth

After the inside of your tooth has been treated, the outside will be restored. To protect your tooth’s under laying structures and give your tooth a healthy appearance, and if your tooth needs extra support your dentist may remove some gutta percha and insert a post before the filling and crown are applied.

A post, Stainless Steel or another metal, is sometimes inserted in your root canal to build up your tooth after root canal therapy.

A filling, usually silver or a tooth colored dental material, may be used to fill the opening in front of your tooth.

A crown, usually gold or porcelain, may be used to cover a tooth that has large opening after root canal therapy.