Occasionally the nerve inside a tooth becomes painful and an infection can occur. Some of the reasons this may happen is from trauma (a blow to the tooth or even grinding), or from a broken tooth or a deep cavity. Regardless of the reason, if the nerve inside the tooth becomes irritated a root canal may be needed. A small opening is made in the tooth and special instruments are used to remove the soft, infected pulp. Once the inside of the tooth is cleaned a material is placed to fill the space. A filling will then be placed to fill the opening.

A root canal tooth is more brittle and susceptible to fracture, therefore, we recommend that your root canaled tooth to be crowned. Dr. Bauer does many of his own root canals, however, there are times he may recommend a specialist.