Root Canal

A root canal is a very common dental procedure. In fact, over 14 million are performed every year in the United States. If a cavity progresses deep enough to reach the nerve inside the tooth, that nerve becomes infected. This also happens if enamel is severely fractured and bacteria moves through the crack to the nerve. The only treatment for an infected nerve is to remove the nerve entirely. Because the nerve extends down a narrow canal through the root (bottom) of your tooth, most people call the removal of this nerve a “root canal.” After our San Francisco dentist completes the procedure, you need a dental crown to replace the enamel that has been removed to provide access to the nerve.

There are two benefits of a root canal. First, a root canal immediately gets you out of any pain or pressure. Second, it enables you to keep the tooth and avoid a dental implant, dental bridge, or unsightly gap. In a few cases, we do not recommended this procedure. For a severely cracked tooth, bacteria eventually wedges into that opening and leads to bone infection. Unfortunately, a root canal will not help you in this situation. In this case our experienced dentists must remove the tooth. If the bone around the tooth is significantly infected or eroded, we also remove the tooth before the infection spreads.

Root canals should be comfortable, especially when performed by our experienced dentists. You will be numbed and relaxed in our massage chair, watching a 3D movie through VR goggles, and calmly breathing nitrous oxide (laughing gas) or be sedated. Usually in one convenient appointment, one of our dentists performs the root canal and creates a permanent dental crown to restore the tooth.

That’s right! Regardless of what dental insurance you have (or if you have no insurance), at Soothing Dental in the San Francisco Bay Area, we offer membership plans covering up to 25% of the cost of a root canal and 50% of the final crown—and a lot more. We place no annual caps or restrictions on our plans. Furthermore, we created these plans to be straight-forward, honest, and generous. We despise dental insurance complexity and love caring for patients. Our dentists created these plans to make quality dental care more affordable and accessible. And they succeeded!

Meet with our San Francisco dentist today to see if you need a root canal. You’re reading about root canals right now for a reason; come in for a consultation and have all of your questions answered. We welcome same- or next-day appointments. Simply call or text 415-989-3953 or book an appointment online.