Root Canal | Endodontists Phoenix - Scottsdale | Emergency Dentist

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How Is A Root Canal Performed?

By the time your endodontist says you need a root canal, you may not care about the details of the procedure – you may simply want the pain in your mouth to stop. However, understanding what happens when a root canal is performed can lead to a better outcome.

Root Canals, Step By Step

  1. Your dentist or endodontist determines a root canal is needed. Root canals may be performed if your tooth pulp has become infected due to decay, a cracked tooth, or other reasons.  You may have symptoms such as a severe toothache, long-lasting sensitivity to hot or cold (long after the stimulus is removed), discoloration of the tooth, pain in the gums surrounding the tooth, or a reoccurring pimple on the gums near the tooth.
  2. The tooth is X-rayed and the gums surrounding it are numbed. As part of the procedure, your endodontist will also place a dental dam around the tooth to protect it from saliva.
  3. A small hole is drilled in the crown of the tooth. This allows the endodontist to access the infected tooth pulp and/or the abcess.
  4. Your endodontist uses specialized tools to clean your tooth roots. These small tools do an important job: removing all infected pulp. They can also be used to shape the canals, preparing them for the next step.
  5. The cleaned root canals are filled with a special material to prevent additional infection. Most of the time, the biocompatible material used is a rubber-like compound called gutta-percha. An adhesive material ensures the canal is completely sealed.
  6. If the affected tooth has weak internal structure, a post may be added to strengthen it. This ensures the restoration will remain in place permanently.
  7. A temporary filling is placed on the tooth. This protects the root canal until your follow-up visit.
  8. Several weeks later, a permanent crown is placed on the tooth. This last step is crucial, providing durable protection for the root canal treatment.

“Each step in the root canal process serves an important function,” says Dr. Susan L. Wood, an endodontist in practice with the Phoenix Endodontic Group. “Our staff is happy to explain what you will experience during a root canal, and respond to any concerns you may have.”

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With Gratitude At Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving, we give thanks for our wonderful staff, our referral providers and our patients!

We are thankful…

….to our patients for choosing Phoenix Endodontic Group for their endodontic needs. We value your patronage and appreciate your confidence in us.

….to our referral partner dental offices for choosing Phoenix Endodontic Group as their partner in patient dental care.

….and to our team members, their expertise and attention to detail is second to none.


Thank you for being part of the Phoenix Endodontic Group family!

We caught up with a few team members to find out what they are thankful for this year:

Kim: I am grateful for my health, my amazing son, my fabulous circle of people and my precious furry princess.

Dr Allen: I am thankful for my combined awesome family and grandkids. Thankful for the family by marriage on my husbands side-especially Marian Conroy. Thankfull for the bubbas.Thankful for all the kind and wonderful staff I have. Thankful for all the people that support AzMOM in various ways-especially the core group that has been with us from the very start in 2012. Thankful for my facebook group of friends that are in the unfortunate group and people that have lost children. They don’t know how much they have come to mean to me-even if I don’t really know them for any other reason.

Savannah: I am grateful for my body and my health. I am so fortunate that my body allows me to do all the things I enjoy and allows me to feel connected like hiking, my yoga practice, running, and dancing. I am grateful for the incredible support system in my life. Those that are family by blood and especially those who have become my soul family through the intervention of the universe. I am grateful for my fur baby patchouli. We have been through 5 moves and 8 years together. She is probably the one living being whom has seen me at my most authentic.I am so grateful for this past year in which I have experienced exponential growth and awareness.

The entire Phoenix Endodontic Group is counting our blessings this Thanksgiving, and we want to share our genuine appreciation for you. We wouldn’t be where we are today without you!

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Can You Go Back To Work After a Root Canal?

Your experience after a root canal may be as unique as the circumstances that led to your need for the procedure. After your root canal, your endodontist will likely send you home with instructions for how to care for your teeth until a permanent crown can be placed. These instructions might cover pain management, brushing and flossing, and tips for retaining your temporary crown.

One of the post-procedural questions that may be at the top of your mind is when you can go back to work. The simple answer is usually, “the day after your procedure.” However, several factors can influence this time estimate.

Back To Work After Root Canal3 Post-Root Canal Questions To Answer Before You Return To Work

  1. How much post-procedure pain are you experiencing? You may experience discomfort after the root canal, but often it can be managed with over-the-counter painkillers. Serious pain can indicate that you may need to follow up with your endodontist.
  2. Is your temporary crown still in place? You will need to have the crown replaced if it falls out.
  3. Does your work situation allow you to control what you eat? You’ll want to eat soft, cool, bland foods and chew on the side of the mouth opposite the root canal.

“Most adults can go back to work within a day of their root canal,” says Dr. Susan L. Wood, an endodontist who practices with the Phoenix Endodontic Group, “However, it’s crucial not to rush that return so much that you miss a symptom your endodontist needs to know about.”

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What Should You Avoid Eating After a Root Canal?

Modern root canals are very effective treatments for natural teeth endangered by injury, decay or disease. The procedure has a success rate well above 90 percent. In those first few days after a root canal, though, your attention may be drawn to more immediate concerns, including what to eat as your mouth heals.

How you eat and what you eat are two key pieces of your root canal aftercare. Following the guidelines below can help ensure your recovery goes smoothly.Dr. Susan Wood_Eat_After_Root_Canal

Foods To Avoid After Your Root Canal

  1. Raw vegetables. Normally health enhancing, crunchy snacks such as carrots and celery should be temporarily taken off your menu.
  2. Nuts. Again, this category of food is usually on the health friendly list, but they are simply too hard for your newly treated tooth to handle.
  3. Hard candy. Even if your intention is to suck on these sweet treats instead of chew them, there is always the risk that the candy could shatter or put too much pressure on the treated area.
  4. Chewing gum. The main danger of using chewing gum after a root canal is that it could pull out your temporary filling, which is essential to preventing infection until a permanent crown can be placed.
  5. Excessively hot foods or drinks. Items such as hot coffee, soup or tea may cause painful sensitivity during the healing period.

Foods that are generally safe to eat after a root canal include ice cream, soft fruits such as bananas and mangoes, yogurt, milkshakes, oatmeal and soft cereals free of any nuts. It is also very important to chew on the side of the mouth opposite your tooth receiving root canal treatment, and to eat slowly.

“The healing period for a root canal is not especially lengthy, but it is important to eat with care during that time to avoid damaging the work your endodontist has done,” says Dr. Susan L. Wood, who practices with the Phoenix Endodontic Group.

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What Is The Recovery Like For Root Canal?

Root canals are a type of endodontic procedure designed to save a patient’s natural tooth. An endodontic specialist or a general dentist treats an injured or infected tooth by cleaning the canals of the tooth root of their pulp and replacing it with a compound known as gutta-percha.

This procedure has a success rate upwards of 90 percent and can make a dramatic positive difference in a patient’s oral health. However, if you’ve been referred to an endodontist for a root canal, it’s only natural to wonder what your recovery period will look like. We asked Dr. Jacqueline S. Allen, an endodontist who practices with the Phoenix Endodontic Group, to explain what most patients can expect after a root canal.

Root Canal Recovery: What To Expect

  1. Your root canal should lessen any tooth-related pain you have been feeling. Some extra sensitivity may remain if you were previously feeling pain from an infection or injury, but that should respond to over-the-counter or prescription painkillers.
  2. You will need to avoid chewing with the treated tooth at first. Your root canal will have a temporary filling on top of it to seal the canals, but until you receive a permanent restoration such as a crown, you will need to minimize chewing with the treated tooth.
  3. You will want to continue your usual oral self-care regimen. Brush twice a day and floss daily to maintain the health of your entire mouth. Follow your dental provider’s recommended schedule for follow up appointments once your restoration is in place.
  4. You may return to normal activities the day after your root canal. You should be able to return to work or participate in most types of recreational activities you may have scheduled.

Despite advances in endodontic clinical technique and dental technology, not all root canals are successful. If a canal is not found and filled during the initial procedure, or if the tooth is challenged by a new infection or injury later on, you may need a root canal retreatment. It’s essential to alert your endodontist if discomfort returns to the tooth treated by the root canal.

“Many patients suffer unnecessary anxiety related to recovery from their root canal,” says Dr. Allen. “But recovery goes smoothly for most people, and a patient only has to observe a few extra precautions to ensure the success of their procedure.”

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Top Three Questions to Ask Your Endodontist About Root Canals

Just as it is important to be an informed consumer when you go shopping, if you have been referred to a Phoenix endodontist for a root canal, you should ask questions of your provider about the procedure. Your experience with the root canal may be more pleasant and less confusing if you take the time to arm yourself with accurate answers to the following three questions.

Top 3 Questions To Ask Your Phoenix Endodontist About Your Root Canal

  1. What is the reason for my root canal? There are many reasons an endodontist might use root canal treatment to save your natural tooth: you could be experiencing a challenge to your tooth pulp due to a cracked or chipped tooth, advanced tooth decay, dental trauma that knocked your tooth out of the socket, or a bacterial infection. Understanding the cause may help avoid the need to perform root canals on other teeth.
  2. How much experience do you have performing root canals? With the average general dentist providing two root canals per week and the average Phoenix endodontist averaging 25 procedures per week, it helps to know how experienced your provider is. Studies show that patients who had their root canal performed by an endodontist experienced treatment success in 98 percent of all cases.
  3. How can I participate in making my root canal successful? Once you are clear on why your root canal is being performed and your provider’s experience level, one of the most crucial questions you can ask relates to what YOU can do to help make it successful. Almost all root canals need a final restoration after the procedure to ensure the root canal succeeds, so your commitment to having that work completed is essential.

“If you want to boost the chances that your root canal will be successful, you can do more than just make an appointment with a qualified Phoenix endodontist – please ask questions,” says Dr. Susan L. Wood, who practices with the Phoenix Endodontics Group. “Your participation makes you an active part of your treatment team.”

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How Common Is It To Get A Root Canal?

If your general dentist has recommended that you call an endodontic provider about having a root canal performed, you’re far from alone. The American Association of Endodontists reports that more than 15 million root canals are performed every year – that’s more than 41,000 root canals per DAY.

Why is this procedure done so often to treat an injured or infected natural tooth? There are several reasons why root canals have become a treatment of choice.

Why Is A Root Canal Being Recommended For Me?

  1. Your dentist or endodontist has determined your natural tooth can be saved. With more than three-quarters of all Americans indicating a preference for saving a tooth over replacing it with an implant, your provider will likely lean in the direction of seeing if salvaging the tooth is possible with a root canal treatment.
  2. Root canal success rates are comparable with those of dental implants. In both situations, the treatments are successful more than 90 percent of the time.
  3. Modern root canals are safe, effective and cause little discomfort. Many times, patients come to an endodontist with an infected tooth that has damaged tissues that are causing discomfort. A root canal actually alleviates this discomfort, rather than causing more. Most patients experience about as much discomfort during a root canal as they would getting a cavity filled.
  4. Nothing can replace the look or function of a natural tooth. Artificial restorations such as dental implants have their advantages, but retaining a natural tooth through a root canal can ensure the tooth stays in your mouth for a lifetime.

“Root canals are neither exotic nor risky,” says Dr. Jacqueline S. Allen, who practices with the Phoenix Endodontic Group. “Endodontists perform this health-enhancing procedure on a daily basis and can make your experience comfortable and stress-free.”

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Why Did My Dentist Refer Me to an Endodontist?

Dr. Susan Wood EndodontistMany of us love a good mystery novel or television show, but few people enjoy mysteries that revolve around our teeth. If you went to your general dentist to resolve a nagging dental issue, you may be wondering why he or she sent you to an endodontist for further examination and treatment.

Endodontists are dental specialists who focus on treating diseases of the dental pulp. They are experts in restoring infected or injured natural teeth to health. The procedures that they perform for patients also make them quite knowledgeable about reducing and eliminating dental pain.

If your dentist has referred you to an endodontist, here are some of the most common reasons he or she may have done so.

Top Reasons For Referral To An Endodontist

  1. Your dentist suspects that you need a root canal. If you have the symptoms of infected tooth pulp, your dentist will most likely want the endodontist to conduct an examination and potentially perform a root canal.
  2. Your dentist may want to have the endodontist examine a previous root canal. Root canal treatments, when followed by the addition of a dental crown on top, have success rates that exceed 90 percent. But root canals can fail, and when they do, an endodontist is the professional most experienced in performing a root canal retreatment.
  3. You may have a cracked tooth. Teeth cracks can let in bacterial infection that can damage the tooth’s pulp. In many cases, root canals performed by an endodontist are the only thing that can preserve a natural tooth that has suffered a crack.
  4. You may need an apicoectomy. If a previous root canal has failed, the damaged tooth may need an apicoectomy, which fills and seals the root tip of the tooth from the root end of the tooth (rather than from the crown end of the tooth, as in a typical root canal).

“Dentists and endodontists work together as a team to keep your natural teeth healthy and intact,” says Dr. Jacqueline S. Allen, who practices with the Phoenix Endodontic Group. “If you have any questions about your referral, let our office know and we will provide a detailed explanation of your condition and your options for treatment.”

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Future Trends In Endodontics – Regenerative Endodontic Therapy

Endodontists are fond of emphasizing that endodontic therapies such as root canals preserve your natural teeth, allowing you to chew, speak and eat without the downsides that come with dentures or other forms of dental restorations. Most current endodontic therapy preserves the outside of a natural tooth by placing a crown over it, while replacing the failing nerve and pulp in the canals with the latex filling gutta-percha.

However, one of the most exciting developments in professional endodontics in the past generation has been research into regenerative endodontic therapy. Instead of replacing the nerve pulp with an inert substance, this groundbreaking treatment creates and delivers healthy living tissue to replace diseased, missing or traumatized pulp.

Endodontists who are at the forefront of this research combine their knowledge of pulp biology, the proper care of dental trauma, and tissue engineering to accomplish this task. The body’s own existing cells or bioactive materials are inserted in the pulp chamber to stimulate regrowth. A related procedure, apexification, employs similar methods to grow a dentin-like substance over the apex (tip) of the tooth root, in order to improve the chances of a traditional root canal treatment succeeding when the death of the pulp in a developing adult tooth has left an open apex.

Endodontic practitioners measure the success of regenerative endodontic therapy by its ability to achieve the following treatment goals:

  • Elimination of symptoms
  • Increased root wall thickness and/or root length
  • Positive response to pulp vitality testing

While this technique is still evolving, endodontists are following the progress of its development with great interest.

“Regenerative endodontic therapy opens the door to transforming how we approach saving natural teeth,” says Dr. Susan L. Wood, an endodontist in private practice with the Phoenix Endodontic Group. “It truly may lead to a clinical situation in which we facilitate the body healing itself.”

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Common Root Canal Questions

Root_CanalMany patients come into Phoenix Endodontic Group with pre-existing ‘knowledge’ regarding root canals, but much of what our patients think they know is untrue. There are many common root canal questions that continually arise in conversations with our patients. To answer these questions Dr. Susan Wood, a partner at Phoenix Endodontic Group, provides her expert knowledge in an exclusive interview!

Is a root canal painful?

A root canal procedure does not have to be painful, if the practitioner is adept in anticipating which teeth may pose a problem. For instance, studies have shown that lower molars that are irreversibly inflamed, are more difficult to anesthetize, and therefore, it might be wise to place the patient on a low dose steroid for a short period of time, prior to attempting treatment.  This will decrease the inflammation significantly and allow the endodontist, to achieve more profound anesthesia, while also keeping the patient comfortable, in the interim.

What can I expect after my root canal procedure?

Studies show that post-op pain and intensity can be directly related to the patient’s pre-op symptoms. In other words, if a patient is in pain prior to a root canal procedure, they can expect to have some discomfort after treatment.  Again, there are things that can be done in order to minimize this discomfort, but it is important for the clinician to recognize them, before they even begin treatment.  Most post-treatment symptoms, however, are relatively mild to none at all.

After treatment, how can I care for my tooth?

After treatment, depending on the restoration placed by the endodontist (some general dentists prefer us to restore with a temporary restoration while others prefer us to place the necessary build-up, post and core, or crown repair), the patient should brush, floss or continue with whatever regiment they use on a regular basis.

Is there anything I should avoid after getting a root canal?

If the tooth undergoing a root canal procedure has not been crowned already, it is VERY important to see your general dentist within a few weeks, to have one placed.  Overall, reducing chewing forces on the tooth for a few weeks, will allow for better healing and reduce symptoms significantly. Most teeth that were sore to chew on prior to treatment, will remain this way for a few days up to several weeks. Of course, if anything seems unusual, or if moderate discomfort is experienced after treatment, it is always a safe assumption that your endodontist should be notified.

How long can a root canal last?

Root canal procedures can last a lifetime, if the tooth is properly cared for, after the procedure is completed. Over 65% of the root canal procedures that fail, are due to the restoration that was placed after the root canal procedure was completed. Therefore, it is always important to follow your endodontist’s or general dentist’s recommendation for the proper restoration of your root-canal treated tooth.








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Our mission: Provide our patients with the finest endodontic and root canal treatment available anywhere in Arizona. #RootCanal #Endodontist #Phoenix

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“Most adults can go back to work within a day of...

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Jun 29

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“Most adults can go back to work within a day of their root canal,” says Dr. Susan L. Wood, “However, it’s crucial not to rush that return so much that you miss a symptom your endodontist needs to know about.”

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Gone are the days when root canal treatment was a ...

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Jun 28

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Gone are the days when root canal treatment was a major ordeal that left a patient in pain.

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Unless you have had a root canal, you may not be ...

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Jun 27

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Unless you have had a root canal, you may not be familiar with the term “endodontist.” An endodontist is a dental professional who specializes in root canals and other treatments which involve the inside of the tooth. Find out more about Phoenix Endodontic Group (website link in bio)

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "My tooth was very ...

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Jun 26

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "My tooth was very compromised but it was saved by a root canal! My endodontist is highly educated! Takes lots of time to explain every procedure. Super patient care! I highly recommend Phoenix Endodontic! 5 stars!" - Nancy P.

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