Root Canal Therapy – Parker, CO

Relieve Toothach Pain & Restore Your Smile

Smiling man in dental chair after root canal therapy

Toothache, shooting pain when you take a sip of cold water, infection around the tooth? If any of this describes your current situation, you need to contact your skilled restorative dentist, Rodney L. Allen, DDS, to find out more about Brownstown root canal therapy. While these restorative dental treatments have a reputation for being painful, they actually allow our team to relieve your toothache and dental sensitivity and save a tooth that may otherwise be lost. If you hear that you need root canal therapy in Parker, CO, take a deep breath. We’re going to help you relieve pain and get the smile back on your face.

What is a Root Canal?

Woman holding jaw in pain before root canal

A root canal is a treatment that repairs teeth when decay or damage access the very inner layer of the tooth called the pulp. The tooth’s nerve is housed within the pulp, and when it’s accessed, the result is painful toothache and dental sensitivity. To save the tooth from removal, we’ll need to perform a root canal to remove the damaged tissues.




Do I Need a Root Canal?

Man in dental chair giving thumbs up after root canal

The only way to know for sure that you need a root canal is to visit our team for an examination. Because we often provide root canal therapy on an emergency basis, we encourage patients to call our Brownstown dental office immediately if they experience any of the following symptoms:


How are Root Canals Completed?

Woman pointing to healthy smile after root canal therapy

Root canals are actually very straightforward procedures. We begin by numbing the area around the tooth to be treated. Then, a hole is drilled into the pulp layer of the tooth. We extract the pulp, nerve, and any other damaged tissues. In some cases, we will provide oral and/or topical antibiotics at this point to avoid infection before we complete treatment. Once you are free from infection, we’ll refill the tooth with a biocompatible substance. The access hole is resealed with a composite filling material. Typically, we also place a dental crown to protect and strengthen the root canal treated tooth.



What Happens after the Root Canal?

Following your root canal treatment, you will likely feel immediately better, but we still recommend taking it easy for the first few days after treatment. Avoid chewing with the part of your mouth around your root canal treated tooth, eat softer foods, and avoid extremely hot or cold foods and drinks. You should experience almost immediate relief from toothache and dental sensitivity, but if you do continue to experience tooth pain or your discomfort or sensitivity increases, it’s time to call our dental office. These can be warning signs of serious complications. If we’ve prescribed antibiotics, make sure to complete your entire course of medication to avoid infection and ensure you make a full recovery.

Understanding the Cost of Root Canals

Dental instruments on stack of cash

If you need a root canal, time is of the utmost importance to avoid an extraction. If you wait too long, you may lose your tooth. Your financial situation shouldn't stand in the way of getting the care you need. Many things affect the cost of root canal therapy, but Dr. Rodney L. Allen provides the solutions you need to save your tooth without breaking the bank.




Factors That Can Affect Root Canal Cost

Stages of tooth decay

No two mouths or situations are identical, so there's no flat fee for root canal therapy. Several factors affect the cost, like:

Is it Cheaper to Pull My Tooth?

Man with missing lower tooth

Extracting a problematic tooth will eliminate the issue at the source, but it opens to door for many new concerns. Every tooth is important for your oral health. Losing even one increases your risk of several complications, like bone loss, cavities, and gum disease. You can even lose more teeth over time. You'll need to invest in a prosthetic to fill the space, which can get costly throughout the years. A root canal saves your tooth and reduces your long-term dental expenses by preserving your natural smile.




Does Dental Insurance Cover Root Canal Therapy?

Dental insurance claim form on desk

Dental insurance can partially cover the cost of your care. Besides your initial consultation, X-rays, and other diagnostic services, your coverage can pay 50% to 80% of the expense, depending on your insurance plan. After meeting your annual deductible, you can use your yearly allowance to lower the amount you will pay out-of-pocket. Dental insurance can be confusing, but you don't have to navigate your policy alone. A member of our office will work on your behalf with your dental insurance to maximize any coverage to keep your treatment affordable.




Other Options for Making Root Canal Therapy Affordable

Man’s hands counting cash

In addition to dental insurance, our office offers various Financial options, which we will explain during your consultation, including:




Root Canal FAQs

A woman about to receive a root canal from her dentist

As you consider root canal therapy, you likely have unaddressed concerns. That’s normal – you want to know what you’re getting into. Still, maybe you’re unsure of how to learn the relevant details. Perhaps you don’t grasp which sources are trustworthy. Well, we at Dr. Allen’s office are here to help: listed below are some common root canal questions and their respective answers. Please read them over to learn what our therapy entails. Otherwise, you can always call us for additional facts.








Can I Eat Before a Root Canal?

Whether eating before your root canal is okay will depend on your case. After all, different patients have varying needs and backgrounds.

If you’ll be sedated for the root canal, you should fast for a few hours beforehand. Doing so reduces the risk of nausea caused by the sedative. From there, the treatment will proceed much more smoothly and comfortably.

If you don’t undergo sedation, have a meal (at least) a few hours before the procedure. A root canal uses an anesthetic, so your mouth will feel numb afterward. As such, eating anything in the hours following therapy will be difficult.

How Long Does a Root Canal Take?

Root canal treatment can be done in one appointment. Still, there are cases where it takes two. In these instances, the first visit places a temporary medicine to relieve tooth pain. Later, you’ll attend a second appointment that cleans your tooth’s innards.

Based on the tooth’s location, a dentist can perform a full root canal in 30-90 minutes. Molars (i.e., your backmost teeth) have more canals to disinfect, so they take longer to finish. Meanwhile, the frontmost chompers have fewer canals and thus involve less time.

Do Root Canals Ever Have to Be Redone?

Unfortunately, root canals do need to be redone sometimes. Despite the treatment’s high success rate, there’s a small chance you’ll require another one later.

A follow-up root canal – also known as endodontic retreatment – can be needed for various reasons. One is that saliva contaminated your tooth during the initial procedure. Alternatively, there may have been a large delay between the first root canal and crown placement. Your tooth may have even had more roots than expected, meaning the dentist didn’t disinfect them all.

When such factors apply, a root canal retreatment is crucial. It’ll keep your tooth from being re-infected, which might cause the pearly white to fall out.

How Long Does It Take to Recover from a Root Canal?

Technically, root canal recovery differs for everyone. Some patients heal more quickly from the therapy than others. That said, most are well enough to return to work or school the day after treatment.

Of course, there are exceptions. If your job involves physical labor, you should take an extra two or three days off. Vigorous exercise can divert blood from the treatment site, delaying healing.

Regardless of the exact timeline, remember to be careful during recovery. Your mouth is likely to feel sore for the next few days. As such, try to take pain relievers as needed and follow a soft-food diet. You’d also do well to brush and floss gently around the treated tooth. Should your pain worsen after three days, call your dentist at once.

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