What it does well
A root canal treats the infection while keeping your natural tooth in place, avoiding the need to remove and replace it with a bridge or implant.
Restorative Dentistry
Saving the tooth, when it can reasonably be saved.
Root canal treatment removes infected or severely inflamed tissue from inside a tooth and seals the space, with the goal of keeping your natural tooth instead of removing it. For San Ramon patients, the first question is always whether the tooth is a reasonable candidate to save — not whether treatment should happen automatically.
What it is
Removing what's infected, keeping what's left.
Inside every tooth is a soft tissue called pulp, containing nerves and blood vessels. When that tissue becomes infected or severely inflamed — usually from deep decay, a crack, or trauma — a root canal removes it, cleans and shapes the space inside the tooth, and seals it to prevent further infection.
The tooth itself stays in your mouth, functioning largely as it did before, rather than being removed and replaced.
When it may be appropriate
Common situations, and why pain alone isn't the whole picture.
A root canal may be evaluated when decay has reached deep into a tooth, when a crack exposes the inner tissue, or when a tooth has developed an infection or abscess. Lingering sensitivity to hot or cold, or pain when biting down, are common reasons patients come in for an evaluation.
Tooth pain doesn't always mean a root canal is needed — sensitivity can come from a number of other causes, including a cavity that hasn't reached the pulp, a cracked filling, or gum-related issues. And if the damage is too extensive for the tooth to be reasonably saved, extraction may be the more honest recommendation. We won't assume the answer before we've looked.
Why diagnosis comes first
Pain is a symptom. It isn't a diagnosis.
Before recommending a root canal, we confirm that the pulp is actually the source of the problem, using an exam and X-rays to see how far any decay or infection has spread and whether the tooth is a reasonable candidate to save.
That evaluation is also how we decide whether a smaller repair is enough, or whether the tooth needs the more involved treatment a root canal requires. We'd rather take the time to get that distinction right than start treatment on an assumption.
Benefits and trade-offs
What it does well, and what to weigh.
What to weigh
Treatment isn't necessarily painless, and a tooth that's been treated often needs a crown afterward to protect what remains of it. Some cases are complex enough that a referral to a specialist may be the right call.
What patients can expect
A tooth-by-tooth process, start to finish.
01
Diagnosis
An exam and X-rays confirm the pulp is infected or inflamed, and that the tooth is a reasonable candidate for treatment.
02
Treatment
The area is numbed, the infected tissue is removed, and the inside of the tooth is cleaned, shaped, and sealed.
03
Restoration
Depending on how much of the tooth remains, a filling or a crown is placed afterward to protect it going forward.
Long-term considerations
A treated tooth still needs the same care as any other.
A tooth that's had a root canal, particularly one restored with a crown, can continue functioning for many years with normal brushing, flossing, and regular exams. Reinfection is uncommon but possible, which is one more reason ongoing checkups matter even after treatment is complete.
Dealing with a lingering toothache? Let's find out why.
A consultation is a conversation, not a commitment. We'll tell you honestly whether a root canal is what's needed.