Root Canals
Short and anxiety-free
For Avoiding Tooth Extraction
A root canal removes the inflamed or diseased nerve inside the tooth and disinfects the inside of the tooth. It is then sealed internally against future infections, saving it from extraction.
Root Canal Specialist
Meet Dr. Wicker
To better serve our patients by substantially reducing root canal appointment time, we partnered with a board-certified endodontist (root canal specialist) in 2021 for those cases that would take us more than 45 minutes to complete. We understand that a root canal procedure is not something people look forward to – with our endodontist, you can expect a painless appointment that takes the same amount of time as a simple filling.
IV Sedation
Another Advantage
Another root canal treatment advantage at Story City Dental is our ability to offer IV sedation; patients still anxious and leary of a root canal procedure can choose to sleep through the entire thing. We also don’t limit patients to one root canal – if you’re in need of more than one and want them completed in one short appointment with our specialist, we can make that happen. When IV sedation is used for root canals, the appointments typically take 90 minutes or less, even with more than one.
WHAT IS A ROOT CANAL?
A root canal involves the removal of an inflamed nerve or an infection inside a tooth. This procedure is needed when the nerve tissue inside a tooth has become irritated, infected or necrotic. Many things can affect your nerves, including deep filling placement, deep cavities, a crack, outright fracture, or trauma to the tooth.
WHEN WOULD I NEED A ROOT CANAL?
If you are experiencing severe localized pain in a tooth, prolonged sensitivity to hot or cold, sensitivity to touch and chewing, discoloration, or tenderness in nearby bone and gum tissues, you may have a tooth that needs a root canal. The need for a root canal can be discovered in a routine dental exam via X-ray images, even without any symptoms, which is why 3-D X-rays are so important.
What you Should expect
Our Standard of Care
Many other dental practices do root canals, but they don’t all deliver the same standard of care. We recommend looking very closely at the standard of care you’ll be provided if you’re a candidate for a root canal.
Saving one (or more) of your teeth is an investment in both time and money; if you’re looking for peace of mind, knowing you’re getting the best possible care during this process, please check out our standards of care:
1
3D imaging before actual treatment:
We take a small volume, high-resolution 3-D image of all teeth needing root canal therapy PRIOR to starting a root canal so that nothing is missed. A missed canal can cause a root canal-treated tooth to need further treatment, usually by a specialist (so you’re paying for it twice). If you’re getting a root canal done, we highly advise that this imaging is completed, especially if your provider hasn’t had post-graduate residency training at locating hidden canals in posterior teeth.
2
Trusted Specialist Care:
Our part-time endodontist, Dr. Wicker, is a Board Certified Endodontist who uses a dental microscope and can complete your root canal in a fraction of the time it would take the average general dentist. This allows you to get high-quality specialist care in the same office where you get your teeth cleaned. And most importantly, the procedure is painless. Although Dr. Binkowski isn’t an endodontist, he did receive post-graduate residency training, just not to the extent that our endodontist has. He is learning to use a dental microscope after using surgical loupes for ten years and will still provide endodontic care to our patients; however, we always let our patients decide who will do their procedure.
3
Microscopic Dentistry:
Teeth are small, but the canals within the tooth are even smaller. The use of a Global Dental Microscope in our office by our endodontist vastly shortens treatment time and allows him to visualize the inside of each root, making sure nothing is missed.
4
IV Sedation:
If you simply want to sleep through your root canal, or require more than one root canal in one appointment, IV Sedation is an incredibly reliable way to experience a root canal that is pain-free and memory-free every single time. We are still the only general dentistry office in the state with several years of experience providing this. Go to sleep and wake up after the root canal is completed!
5
No Limitations to care:
If you need more than one root canal completed, they can ALL be completed in one short appointment. Why drag it out to several appointments?
6
Crown fabrication chairside:
Other than missed canals, root canals can fail due to poor seal in the top of the tooth, or a tooth fracture. The best way to prevent this is by immediately rebuilding the tooth with a new core while it’s very well-isolated, then placing a crown on the tooth before you leave the office (much like a football helmet, a crown protects the tooth from fracture). We offer immediate crown fabrication chairside after your root canal is completed, with no temporaries and no need for a second trip to the dentist. Walk out of the office with the root canal completed and the permanent crown cemented on it!
3d x-ray imaging
We look inside tooth to reduce missed canals
Our dentists can usually perform a full root canal, core buildup, crown prep and cementation of the crown in one appointment; however, this can take longer based on the complexity of the tooth. Prior to numbing, the dentist will take a high-resolution 3-D X-ray image to see inside the tooth, which reduces the chance of missing any canals during the procedure. After administering local anesthesia, the dentist or specialist will place a rubber dam over the tooth for isolation and make a small access into the tooth. This lets the dentist reach the anesthetized nerve tissue, which is then removed. Disinfectant rinses the inside of the pulp chamber and canals, and the tooth is sealed with a sealer and rubbery material. The inside of the tooth’s crown is rebuilt with white resin, and the tooth is prepared for a crown to protect it from future fracture. Story City Dental will review the detailed procedure and anesthesia options prior to your appointment. If you are apprehensive about having a root canal, we offer IV deep sedation. We also do not limit the number of root canals done in one appointment as our specialist can complete three or more depending on the teeth. Most patients typically choose to do their crown right after our endodontist has completed the root canal; its as simple as moving to another chair right after he is done, no drive required.