Root Canal Therapy – Longmont, CO

What is a Root Canal?

It is always our goal to help you keep your natural teeth. While artificial teeth may look and even feel like the real thing, they’re not, no matter how much they closely resemble your regular teeth. By having a root canal, we’ll be able to save your tooth from extraction.

A root canal removes the infection within the inner portion of the tooth. This infection is caused by damage or decay. Dr. Dan Maurer can go in and clear out the infection, all the way to the pulp layer, before replacing it with a biocompatible material. Once it’s sealed, you’ll have a customized crown to protect the tooth from further damage.

What Problems Do Root Canals Treat?

If the decay or damage has reached the innermost layer of your tooth and the nerve is being affected, it’s time you see us for a root canal. How does this happen?

Damage from sports-related injuries or even a fall can result in serious problems for your teeth. However, damage isn’t the only way you can find yourself in the dentist chair preparing for a root canal. If you have poor oral habits that have led to the development of tooth decay, the bacteria can burrow its way into your teeth. Not only will this result in cavities, but it can reach the nerve of your tooth, which means a root canal is the only way to save it.

How Long Does a Root Canal Take?

Depending on your individual case, a root canal can take one or more visits to our dental office. Dr. Dan will follow a series of steps to perform the procedure. He will:

1. Take an X-ray of your mouth to examine the root canals and see if the infection has spread to the nearby bone.
2. Numb the area and administer anesthesia to ensure you are completely comfortable.
3. Place a rubber dam around the tooth and create a small access-site at the top of the crown.
4. Clean out the bacteria and decayed nerve tissue from the infected tooth.
5. Seal the tooth once it is fully cleaned using a safe, biocompatible material.
6. Place a customized crown over the weakened tooth so that it remains protected from further infection or damage.

Does a Root Canal Hurt?

It’s natural to wonder if a root canal will hurt. Over the years, this procedure has received a bad reputation, and it’s due to the misconception that root canal therapy causes pain. In fact, by having this type of procedure, it actually alleviates and removes the infection that is the reason for the pain.

In the days after your root canal therapy treatment, you can expect:

• Some sensitivity due to inflammation, but it can be controlled with over-the-counter pain medication.
• To avoid chewing on the side of the injured tooth for a few days.
• To continue brushing, flossing, and using an antiseptic mouthwash to keep your mouth clean.

Understanding the Cost of Root Canals

Root canals have a little bit of a bad reputation, and while this isn’t necessarily earned, it still leads many patients to be nervous in the lead up to the procedure. The last thing we want to do is to add to that by making payment a hassle, so we do everything we can to make your the finances of dentistry as transparent as possible.

We’ll give you a sense of what you can do to make your care affordable when we meet you in person, but here’s what you should know in the meantime about the cost of a root canal.

Factors That Can Affect Root Canal Cost

It’s difficult to say precisely what your root canal is going to cost until we meet you in person. This is because there are several factors that can affect the price of your root canal in one way or another. For example:

• The type of tooth that’s being treated; molars have more roots than incisors, and are therefore more complex to treat.
• Where the tooth is located in the mouth.
• How difficult your root canal is. In some circumstances, a specialist with their own rate for the procedure will need to be brought in.
• The type of dental crown you use to finish off the root canal.

Is it Cheaper to Pull My Tooth?

If you’re only considering the upfront cost of the procedure, you’ll might think that a tooth extraction is a cheaper option than a root canal. While this is true if you’re only thinking about the cost of the treatment itself, it neglects the element of tooth replacement.

When you have a tooth taken out, you need to replace it with something: a denture, dental bridge, or dental implant. Otherwise, the teeth surrounding the gap could move out of place, leading to various oral health problems.

When you factor in the cost of your tooth replacement, the total cost of an extraction will be higher than that of a root canal.

Does Dental Insurance Cover Root Canals?

Root canals are important medical procedures, done to treat serious infections. This being the case, you can expect dental insurance to cover at least a small portion of your expenses for this procedure. Depending on the details of your plan, you may have anywhere from 50% to 80% of your dental costs covered.

Other Options for Making Root Canal Treatment Affordable

Even if you don’t have insurance, you shouldn’t have to put off necessary dental care. For that reason, we offer financial options that can potentially make your care more affordable.

If you’re intimidated by the prospect of paying for dental care all at once, you may be interested in financing. We work with both CareCredit and Cherry, both of which can allow you to split the cost of your dental care across several months.

If you’re interested, give us a call and we’ll be able to discuss all of your financial options with you.