Root canals are the tiny pathways that wind their way from beneath the surface of a tooth downward to the tip of the root. Unfortunately, infection can follow the same route, until it arrives within a tooth's inner pulp chamber. The pulp is an assemblage of soft tissues including blood vessels and nerves that supply a tooth with sensation and circulation. Infected pulp used to spell the beginning of the end for a tooth, but thanks to the development of root canal therapy, today's dentists can halt the infection in its tracks and restore the tooth to its original function.
Most root canal patients experience little or no discomfort or pain, and they enjoy a restored tooth that can last nearly as long as its healthy original.