When a dentist recommends root canal therapy, many patients balk in fear. However, at Harley Street Dental Clinic we are keen to point out that this treatment is nothing to be afraid of – and can be essential to saving your tooth.
Why you need root canal therapy
Root canal therapy will be prescribed by your dentist when the pulp or nerve at the centre of your tooth becomes infected with bacteria. This can happen as a result of tooth decay, or from injuries to the tooth. That’s why it is important to get even the most minor chips and cracks in a tooth’s surface treated by a dentist as soon as possible.
If a tooth becomes infected, pain is often the first symptom. Untreated, this can lead to a dental abscess and even tooth loss. Root canal therapy – or endodontics, to give it its official name – is a specialist treatment designed to remove all traces of infection, getting you out of pain and saving your tooth.
At Harley Street Dental Clinic, our specialist endodontist Dr Nectaria Polycarpou carries out our root canal therapy work. She is highly experienced and can treat even the most complex cases, such as a retreatment after an initial course of treatment has failed.
Dr Polycarpou understands that many patients – particularly those with a fear of the dentist – are anxious about root canal therapy, and she is renowned for her kind-hearted, compassionate nature and gentle treatment.
Harley Street Dental Clinic is proud to provide pain-free dentistry, and for particularly anxious or phobic patients we do offer the option of treatment under sedation.
Root canal therapy involves using special files to clean the root canal of infection, before filling the tooth and in many cases adding a crown for additional strength.