Address: 6917 US Highway 301 S
Riverview, 33578, Hillsborough County, Florida
Root Canal Services in Riverview, FL
If you find yourself in need of root canal services in Riverview, Florida, call Dr. Chris Castellano. A root canal should be performed by an experienced dentist and team. Our office has an amazing team that’s ready to help you and keep you comfortable throughout the procedure.
What is a root canal procedure?
A root canal is the complete removal of the pulp inside a tooth’s pulp chamber. The pulp is formed by the nerve, vein, artery, and connective tissue of the tooth. The pulp chamber is a hollow cavity in the core of the tooth where this tissue resides. The pulpal tissue is removed via filling, irrigating with bleach, and rinsing with sterile irrigants. The pulp chamber is dried with paper points. Once dry, it’s filled (condensed) with natural rubber points (gutta percha), endodontic cement of eugenol, calcium phosphate, zinc oxide, and barium sulfate, which seals the apex office (end of root opening in the bone).
The seal is needed to keep circulating bacteria in your system out of the chamber (a potential habit for bacterial re-infection). Infections that overpower your immune system lead to swelling, abscessing, and pain.
How long does a root canal take?
Root canals are one of the most intricate and tedious procedures in dentistry. Some root canals can be as quick as 15 minutes, and some can take hours or even multiple appointments. The average in my office is about 1-2 hours.
What causes root canal pain?
Root canal pain is caused by any violation of the pulp chamber via structural breach, traumatic injury, and radiation penetration. Our root canal services in Riverview, Florida, will take away your pain quickly!
Structural breach via crack:
This is when a crack makes it to the pulp chamber. It can be very specific and painfully acute. This is due to the nerve fibers of the tooth complex. Inside the tooth are Type C nerve unmyelinated fibers giving rise to burning, achy throbby diffuse type pain. Type A militated nerve fibers outside the tooth in the ligament (connecting the tooth to the bone) give rise to specific sharp acute pain. Type A nerve fibers are sensory-proprioceptive, so if the crack evolves the root (below the gum line), the pain is very acute sharp, and specific.
The trigger for pain is the ripping of these fibers inside the tooth and around the crack. In some cases where the crack is minor, it may only hurt sharply when pressure is on that tooth; when the pressure is released, everything goes pain-free within a second or two. In this case, the pulp is still normal in a condition called reversible pulpitis, which does not require root canal treatment. A cracked tooth requires a full coverage crown to hold the tooth together so the crack doesn’t progress, causing further injury to the pulp. If bite pressure causes severe pain that is of longer duration or constant, irreversible pulpitis has occurred, and the tooth will require a root canal.
Structural breach via decay:
In both structural breaches, crack and decay, you will have an increased sensitivity to hot/cold temperature changes, salty/sweet, and air/water movements over the tooth. Biting pressure will cause pain that will become more constant as the condition worsens (proportional to the crack or decay) and inflammation sets in.
Teeth can decay due to bacterial acid waste products dissolving enamel and dentin, forming cavities originating in pits, fissures, and contact areas of teeth. Cavities occur without any pain symptoms until the decay/cavity gets close to the pulp chamber. Once there, it creates an enormous infection causing mounting inflammation inside the tooth. As this inflammation sets in, it creates pressure, and it’s the pressure on the nerve that creates “dull” constant pain. The pain increases on systolic (high pressure) cycle beats and decreases low diastolic pressure, so it feels “throbby.” This pain is a nonspecific type of pain because it evolves the “C” nerve fibers so it can be hard to tell which tooth is the culprit.
Traumatic Injury (blow to the face)
A traumatic (blow to the face) can cause the tooth to flex enough in the socket to cut the artery nerve and vein at the apex. If this happens, the tooth will bleed internally and discolor. The pulpal tissue may repair itself and return to normal function, or it may die (necrose) in the chamber. If this results in a “fast death,” a gaseous decomposing mass will form inside the tooth. Pain is caused by the buildup of gas pressure of the decomposing mass and the inflammation triggered by it. Expansion of the gas due to increased temperature causes increased pain; the cold will relieve gas pressure and decrease pain. Since we are inside the tooth with C nerve fibers, the pain will be dull, achy, and constant. If the pulpal death occurs very slowly over months to years, your immune system may have enough time to clean things or wall the pulpal orifice off with cyst formation. In this “slow death” scenario, you could have no pain symptoms. However, since the tooth is now unprotected with no blood supply (compromised immune system), it can be a habitat for an aggressive bacterial infection, causing abscessing at any time.
Trauma from dental work:
Although not too common, filling a tooth or crowning a tooth can lead to pulpal death and inflammation. The heat and bacterial slurry from the high-speed handpiece sometimes are too much for the pulp to tolerate. It occurs when the dental work to restore a tooth is close to the pulp, and the heat/bacterial slurry from drilling causes the pulp to go into irreversible pulpitis. It can happen regardless of using the best techniques and care by the dentist. If it does happen, the pain will worsen in the hours/days after the dental work. Root canal/crown or extraction are two alternative options should this occur.
Trauma from radiation:
People undergoing cancer radiation treatments of the head and neck area run a high risk of pulpal death from the radiation. The tissue inside the tooth is delicate and succumbs quickly to the thousands of rads used in these types of treatments. Unfortunately, in many cases, the teeth have to be removed. Dentures are an option for teeth replacement.
How much do root canals cost?
The cost of our root canal services in Riverview, Florida, ranges from five hundred to two thousand dollars.
What to eat after a root canal?
Teeth spit like logs in this weakened state after a root canal. A hole through the roof of the tooth is made to get the axis to the pulp chamber to clean it out and seal it. Un-roofing this pulp chamber like this takes 90% of the strength of the tooth away. Chewing anything hard could cause vertical splitting along this hole, requiring its extraction. Until the crown and reinforcement treatments are completed, avoid chewing on it as much as possible, regardless of how comfortable it may feel, especially hard objects such as ice, rock candies, and nuts.
If you need a root canal, you’re likely in pain or feeling discomfort, at the very least. Call Dr. Chris Castellano for our endodontic services in Riverview, Florida.
