Some of My Happiest Patients Are Those Who Have Had Root Canals

The words “root canal” are synonymous with pain: “I’d rather give birth than have a root canal.” Yet some of the patients who leave my office with the biggest smiles are those who’ve had a root canal.

A root canal is a last-ditch attempt to save a tooth by cleaning out infected soft tissue inside the tooth. It's done because saving your own tooth is usually more convenient and less expensive than having the tooth extracted, then replacing it (with an implant or a bridge) so your teeth stay lined up and your bite remains stable. For a long time, however, having a root canal meant a lot of drilling and a lot of pain.

In the 25 years I’ve been practicing, root canal procedures have improved greatly: better pain control, better treatment techniques, better results. When I was a teenager, watching my dentist make people pain-free was one of the things that inspired me to choose a career in dentistry. (More on this on my website.) That's why I always schedule adequate time to let the local anesthetic take effect. (You can also request nitrous oxide, if you wish.) I also use a top-notch dental lab that produces crowns that usually fit on the first try, and that match your own teeth.

Some patients who’ve been seeing insurance-approved dentists for years come back to me for root canals and other difficult procedures. When it comes to such procedures, a dentist who accepts an insurance payment as full payment is at a disadvantage: he is often forced to rush because he's seeing patients in half-hour slots, and he may have to choose a dental lab not because of the quality of its work, but because its lab fee is low enough to be covered by the insurance company’s payment. (Read more about my policy on insurance payments.) I take pride in providing my patients with the finest quality of care, which includes scheduling adequate time for procedures and using the knowledge and experience gained over 25 years in practice to make each visit as pleasant as possible. That’s why some of the happiest patients are those who have had root canals.

If you have general questions about dentistry that you'd like to see addressed on this blog, feel free to email me at sdurante@earthlink.net . The information on this blog is presented for general education only: consult a dentist for advice on specific problems, diagnoses and treatment.