Dentists perform approximately 15 million root canals every year according to the American Association of Endodontists. It's a very common endodontic treatment that helps patients preserve and strengthen their teeth. Patients who have severe dental decay are often recommended for root canal therapy as an alternative to extraction. Explore the details and benefits of getting a root canal at Alaskan Family Dental Center in Wasilla, AK. 

It's natural and normal to be a little anxious about having a root canal, but those fears will be assuaged by your dentist at your initial exam and consultation. Thanks to sedation dentistry, you won’t feel anything during the procedure. The area is thoroughly numbed first so that you can sit back and relax the rest of the appointment with your Wasilla dentist. Some patients are also worried about whether the procedure will work. It is estimated that root canal treatments have a success rate of 87 percent after 8-10 years according to a study conducted at the UCL Eastman Dental Institute. 

As fearful as many patients are about root canal therapy, it is one of the most effective and beneficial dental procedures. It allows you to keep your original tooth, which is a good thing for a number of reasons. If the tooth is extracted, it leaves a gap in your smile and your other teeth can shift out of position. If you’ve been living with intense tooth pain, an emergency root canal by your Wasilla dentist is the best way to eliminate the pain you’ve been experiencing. The Procedure It may ease your mind to know what you should expect in advance of your root canal procedure. It normally takes one appointment (about one to two hours depending on the severity of the issue). After sedating you, the dentist makes an opening in the tooth so that the diseased pulp can be removed. When it is thoroughly clean, it is filled with a biocompatible compound called gutta percha. A crown will be designed to cover the tooth so that it can heal properly over the coming weeks.