Root Canal Treatment in Muswell Hill
Gentle, precise treatment that relieves pain and saves your natural tooth, carried out with modern techniques that make the experience far more comfortable than you might expect.
- Pain relief, often from the very first appointment
- Modern rotary instruments and digital imaging for precision
- Save your natural tooth instead of losing it to extraction
Save the tooth or extract it?
When a tooth is badly damaged or infected, you have two main options. Wherever possible, we recommend saving the natural tooth, and root canal treatment is one of the most reliable ways to do that.
Root canal treatment
Removes the infection inside the tooth while preserving the outer structure, so you keep your natural tooth and the smile, bite and bone support that come with it.
- Keeps your natural tooth in place for years to come
- Maintains normal bite, chewing and speech
- Prevents bone loss that follows extraction
- No need for a bridge, implant or denture
- Often the most cost-effective option long-term
Extraction
Removes the tooth entirely. Sometimes this is the right choice, but it creates a gap that often needs replacing to protect neighbouring teeth and prevent further problems.
- Neighbouring teeth can shift into the gap over time
- Jawbone begins to shrink where the tooth was
- Usually requires a replacement: implant, bridge or denture
- Replacement adds further cost and treatment time
- May be the only option if the tooth is severely fractured
We'll always give you an honest recommendation
If a tooth can be saved, we'll tell you. If extraction genuinely is the better option, we'll explain why and talk you through what comes next. The decision is always yours.
Nothing works quite like your natural tooth
Modern replacements are excellent, but your own tooth is still the best option for long-term comfort, function and bone health. Root canal treatment lets you keep it.
What happens during root canal treatment
The procedure is usually completed over two appointments. Here's what to expect at each stage, from numbing the tooth to fitting the final crown.
We take detailed digital X-rays to see the shape of the root canals and the extent of the infection. We'll explain exactly what's happening inside the tooth and talk you through the treatment plan before anything begins.
We thoroughly numb the area with local anaesthetic so you won't feel any pain during the procedure. A small rubber dam is placed around the tooth to keep it clean and dry, and to make the treatment more comfortable for you.
Using precise rotary instruments, we carefully remove the infected or damaged nerve tissue from inside the tooth. The root canals are then thoroughly cleaned, shaped and disinfected to eliminate all bacteria. This is the core of the treatment.
Once the canals are completely clean, they're filled with a biocompatible material called gutta-percha and sealed to prevent reinfection. A temporary or permanent filling is placed on top. Most patients notice the pain has already gone by this point.
A root-treated tooth is more brittle than a living one, so we usually recommend a crown to protect it long-term. We'll take impressions and fit a custom-made, tooth-coloured crown that looks and feels completely natural, restoring full strength to the tooth.
Don't wait until it's too late to save
A tooth that's causing you pain today can often still be saved, but the window doesn't stay open forever. The earlier we see you, the simpler the treatment and the better the outcome for your tooth.
Questions patients ask about root canal
Straight answers to the concerns we hear most often from patients who've been told they need root canal treatment.
