Cosmetic Dentistry and Skin Care Blog

Do the words “root canal” bring anxiety, sweaty palms and a shiver down your spine? It’s a common reaction in many dental patients—but the fear is largely unfounded. To help you make an informed decision about the health of your teeth, it’s important that you have all the information. Read on for the real lowdown on root canal therapy.

Why Do I Need a Root Canal?

Root canal therapy is recommended when your mouth pain is caused by an irreversible tooth condition. For example, you may need a root canal because you’ve left a cavity untreated. As decay erodes your tooth, it eats through to the tooth’s pulp—or center. This allows bacteria into the pulp, which causes inflammation, reduced blood supply—and severe pain. Your dentist may also recommend a root canal if you’ve experienced a past trauma or severe tooth fracture and the tooth is dying from the inside out. While avoiding a root canal may seem like the least painful option, it could save you from increasing pain, dangerous abscess or complete extraction of the affected tooth.  

During your root canal procedure, the specialists at Smile and Skin will (1) remove the tooth’s pulp, (2) clean the tooth’s center and apply antibiotics, if needed, (3) fill the tooth’s center with a rubbery material (called gutta percha), and (4) seal the tooth with a crown, cap or other restorative filling.

Are Root Canals Painful?

While root canals have the reputation for being painful, it’s important to remember that they’re performed to eliminate existing pain. Prior to the procedure, Dr. Meola and his team will numb the area surrounding the affected tooth to prevent you from feeling pain during the procedure. However, for some patients—the anesthetic injections are not enough to relieve their root canal anxiety. In those cases, your reputable sedation dentist can help you to relax and make your appointment pain and anxiety free.  Don’t allow severe anxiety to prevent you from a much-needed root canal procedure. Instead, ask your cosmetic dental team about safe sedation options.

After a root canal is performed, it’s common for the tooth to feel tender and sore. You may require a soft diet for a few days, and your dentist may recommend the use of over-the-counter analgesics, like Tylenol, Motrin or Aleve. These low-risk medications should take care of post-procedural pain, and when an experienced dentist performs your root canal, your discomfort should be short-lived. Once your root canal heals, your tooth should be restored—both functionally and aesthetically. You’ll be surprised at how pain-free the process can be.

Plagued by tooth pain? Call Smile and Skin today to schedule your dental consultation or inquire about our extensive line of cosmetic dental procedures. 

There's no doubt that smile aesthetics are an important part of both physical appearance and self esteem. But for many people, traditional metal braces (and the headgear and appliances that go with them) present an unattractive, inconvenient way of tackling orthodontic problems. In fact, braces may even cause extreme anxiety for those concerned about maintaining their appearance in the workplace or in social environments. That's why many orthodontic patients are turning to Invisalign when it's time for a smile makeover.

Benefits of Invisalign

Coined the "invisible alternative to braces," Invisalign treatments consist of a progressive series of clear, thin aligners designed to adjust the position of your teeth, one step at a time. This simple, attractive aligner system offers a range of indisputable benefits, including:

1. Bracket and wire-free design: Invisalign inserts are virtually invisible, so you'll never have to worry about braces getting in the way of showing off your smile. In addition, the aligners are easily removed for eating, flossing and brushing-so there's no need to work around brackets and wires while maintaining your teeth health. Invisalign also eliminates the bracket staining that may go along with brace removal-so there's no need to tack a teeth whitening expense on to your alignment costs.

2. Reduced treatment time: Many teens and adults commit to wearing braces for years before their teeth are straight. And, while Invisalign plans differ based upon the individual patient, total treatment time averages nine to 15 months-which is much shorter than the average brace treatment of two years or more. In addition, Invisalign technology allows you to view "virtual straightening results" based on your specialist's recommended treatment plan-so you can look forward to your post-Invisalign look.

3. No speech changes: Unlike metal braces, headgear and traditional retainers, the slim, concealed design of Invisalign aligners won't impact your speech. You'll articulate speech clearly-without the lengthy adjustment period that comes with bulky wires, brackets and rubber bands.

Thinking about a smile transformation? There are summer specials and complementary bleaching available with your Invisalign treatment.

Call Dr. Meola's team today to schedule your no-obligation Invisalign consulation. When you're ready to begin, we'll use Invisalign's precision, three-dimensional analysis of your mouth to custom craft your aligners-and develop your ideal treatment plan.

 

Many people are fearful of dental treatment and their apprehension and anxiety causes them to avoid and postpone regular dental care until their oral health deteriorates. Sedation dentistry, also known as "relaxation dentistry," offers an opportunity to experience your dental treatment without pain or anxiety. Using many different techniques, dentists can provide you with the appropriate comfort level to address all of your dental needs, often in only one visit.

Types of Sedation Dentistry

Nitrous Oxide Sedation
Use of a combination of inhaled nitrous oxide and oxygen is a very safe and effective way to achieve a relaxed state. Nitrous oxide, or commonly known as "laughing gas," has been used in dentistry for over one hundred years. The effects of nitrous oxide are to reduce fear and the perception of pain while still maintaining consciousness. One of the main benefits is that the onset and recovery is immediate, which allows patients to resume normal activity following their appointment.

Conscious Sedation
For patients with high levels of fear and anxiety, nitrous oxide sedation may not be enough. In these cases, conscious sedation is a much better option. Conscious sedation provides a reduced state of consciousness through the use of medications provided by the dentist. These medications are administered by mouth (oral conscious sedation) or via intravenous methods (IV sedation). Patients undergoing conscious sedation are able to speak and respond to verbal cues throughout the procedure, communicating any discomfort they experience to the dentist. Nitrous oxide sedation can also be used as an adjunct to conscious sedation, synergizing with the effect of local anesthetic and the sedative medications. One of the other benefits of conscious sedation is temporary amnesia that may erase any memory of the procedure. Most patients experience minimal post-operative discomfort; however, due to residual effects of the sedatives, it is important for a trusted companion to escort the patient home to ensure safe transportation and recovery.

General Anesthesia
The majority of dental procedures can be completed with conscious sedation. However, in rare cases in which a patient has extreme anxiety, requires extensive treatment to be done, or has a complex medical condition, general anesthesia may be the best option. General anesthesia is the state produced when a patient receives medications for purposes of amnesia, pain control and to induce sleep. An anesthetized patient can be thought of as being in a controlled, reversible state of unconsciousness. The medications are administered either intravenously or inhaled. Your dentist must work with an anesthesiologist to administer the medications and carefully monitor vital functions such as breathing and heart rate. Due to the complex nature of providing general anesthesia, it is usually performed in a hospital outpatient setting.

There is no need to be fearful of the dentist's office. You can receive the highest quality dental care in a painless and anxiety-free setting. To find out if sedation dentistry is an option for you, or if you would like more information about sedation dentistry, contact your dentist or a qualified sedation dentist.