Is there any dental procedure that strikes more fear in the hearts of men and women than the infamous root canal? Quite possibly not, so if you are experiencing dental pain and may require a root canal procedure, you should arm yourself the best way you can, with information. This inclination should be natural to people living in a hub of higher learning like Palo Alto.
So what exactly is a root canal procedure? First off, the procedure itself is not called a root canal, but rather endodontic therapy. A root canal is the area at the base of the tooth that endodontic therapy is intended to clean out and repair. Endodontic therapy becomes necessary when material at the base of a tooth becomes infected, the result of which can be a painful abscess that, if not treated, will grow larger and more painful eventually causing tooth loss and the risk of a spreading infection. To combat this painful and dangerous condition dental science developed endodontic therapy, which has become firmly lodged in the public mind as a “root canal.”
The endodontic therapy, or root canal procedure, involves first numbing the affected tooth and surrounding tissue, and then drilling down into the tooth to expose the infected area at the base. Once this is accomplished small specialized tools are used to clean the infected material from the base of the tooth, or root canal. Once the infected material has been cleared the tooth is filled from the base up with a specialized material, and then the top of the tooth is capped to seal the hole that was drilled into the tooth to clear the root canal.
Dental science has come a long way since the first root canals were performed, and with modern technology the process itself can actually be completed with minimal discomfort to the patient. Appropriate pain management after the procedure can make patients that suffered with an abscess wonder why it took them so long to have the procedure performed.
If you are reading this article, you are likely living around the Palo Alto area, and you should know that there are many dentists in and around Palo Alto with experience and skill in performing endodontic therapy. If you are suffering pain in your jaw or one of your teeth you should contact a dentist immediately, it is possible that you will require a root canal procedure to fix your problem, and the longer you wait the worse it will get.
It is important when selecting a Palo Alto dentist to perform your root canal that you select someone with skill and experience. This is for the reason that an improperly performed root canal can result in a continued or even spread infection which will likely require further dental procedures and continued discomfort.
If you have been hesitating to contact a dentist because of fear you have of the root canal procedure or dentistry in general you should take comfort in the fact that you live in Palo Alto. This is because in Menlo Park, just a few miles from Palo Alto, Dr. Chaulong Nguyen has been practicing dentistry for more than eight years, and in that time performed countless root canals. Dr. Nguyen is different from most the dentists in the Palo Alto area in her total dedication to compassionate personalized care. Dr. Nguyen sees only one patient at a time. In an industry where it is not uncommon for a dentist to run between 3 or even 4 examination rooms at the same time, this level of focused attention is nothing short of a miracle.
Let Dr. Nguyen’s skill and experience put you at ease, we are confident that once you experience the level of care with which she performs your root canal, you will return to her for all your dental needs for as long as you live in Palo Alto.
