Root Canal Specialist

Varinos Dental Associates

Cosmetic, Implant, and General Dentists located in Newburyport, Peabody, & Winthrop, MA

Root canal therapy has gotten a bad reputation, but it’s actually no more painful than a traditional filling and can do wonders for your oral health. If you need root canal therapy, schedule a visit with Frank Varinos, DDS, Jemin Kim, DMD, and the team of gentle dentists at Varinos Dental Associates of Newburyport, which has four state-of-the-art clinics conveniently located in Newburyport, Peabody, Haverhill, and Winthrop, Massachusetts. Book your visit by calling your nearest office or scheduling an appointment online.

Root Canal Q & A

What is root canal therapy?

Root canal therapy is a procedure that your dentist performs to treat a tooth with pulp that’s become infected or damaged.

The pulp is the soft matter inside your tooth made up of connective tissue, blood vessels, and nerves. It doesn’t serve much of a purpose after your tooth has emerged, but if it gets infected or damaged, it swells, pinching the nerves in the tooth, which is incredibly painful.

Most people associate this pain with root canal therapy when root canal therapy actually eases this pain.

With root canal therapy, the team at Varinos Dental Associates of Newburyport can remove the damaged or infected pulp while keeping the rest of your natural tooth intact.

In the past, the only way to treat infected tooth pulp was to pull the tooth, so root canal therapy represents a great leap forward in dental treatments.

What are the signs that I need root canal therapy?

If your tooth pulp is damaged or infected, chances are you need root canal therapy to treat it and restore your oral health. Some of the more common symptoms of damaged or infected tooth pulp include:

Pain in your tooth
A tooth that’s become discolored or darkened
Tender or swollen gums
A foul taste that won’t go away
Pus around your gumline
A small, pimplelike pocket near your tooth’s root
Increased sensitivity to hot and cold

If you’re experiencing any of these conditions, schedule a visit with the team at Varinos Dental Associates of Newburyport immediately. The sooner they can treat your tooth with root canal therapy, the sooner you’ll be out of pain.

What’s involved in a root canal procedure?

First, your dentist takes an X-ray of your mouth, which they use to assess the extent of damage to or infection in the affected tooth and to guide them through the procedure.

Next, your dentist numbs your tooth and the surrounding tissue with a local anesthetic and protects the rest of your teeth with a rubber dental dam.

They drill a small hole in the top of the affected tooth to access the inside and remove all of the damaged or decayed pulp with a series of small files.

After they’ve cleared out all of the decay in your tooth, they clean it, sterilize it, and fill it with gutta-percha, a natural rubber. Then, they fill the access hole that they drilled in the top and fit your tooth with a crown to restore its structural integrity.

If your tooth is damaged or infected, don’t delay your treatment. Schedule a root canal consultation with the team at Varinos Dental Associates of Newburyport immediately by calling the office or using the convenient online booking tool.

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