Your teeth make several daily tasks possible—like eating, talking, and smiling. So, preserving these natural assets are extremely important to maintaining your lifestyle. When a tooth becomes infected or falls out, Dr. Jon Jenson at Cascade Endodontics in Orem makes it his top priority to preserve as much of the natural tooth as possible with root canal therapy. Root canal therapy repairs and restores functionality to a dying tooth without requiring extraction.
Root canal therapy is most commonly performed on teeth that are infected and dying. The middle of your tooth is made up of pulp—or a combination of blood vessels, connective tissue, and nerves that feed nutrients to the tooth root. Cavities or cracked teeth can let bacteria into the tooth, causing infection in the pulp and creating severe tooth pain. When left alone, an infected tooth can develop into more serious problems that require tooth extraction and costly restorative dentistry.
During root canal therapy, endodontist Dr. Jon Jenson opens up the tooth and thoroughly cleans out all of the infection, and then fills and seals the tooth back up. Most patients who undergo root canal therapy get a customized dental crown from their general or restorative dentist after the procedure to protect the tooth from further decay or bacteria. A dental crown is a porcelain, tooth-shaped restoration that is bonded directly over the top of your original tooth. It looks and functions exactly like a natural tooth, while sealing your original tooth off from bacteria in the saliva.
According to the American Association of Endodontists, more than 15 million root canals are performed every year. If you begin feeling tooth pain or think your tooth may be infected, contact Cascade Endodontics in Orem to schedule an initial consultation with endodontist Dr. Jon Jenson.