What is a root canal?

Often people ask if I can explain a root canal in plain English? Sure! Pretend this pen in the pocket is like a tooth in the mouth. The pen has a bad ink cartridge and will start leaking and cause a stain in the pocket, or for a tooth disease and infection will seep out into the jawbone. The choice becomes either to take the pen out and throw it away or clean out the bad cartridge so I can keep it. I can't remove the pen from my pocket to fix it, but if I make a hole in the top I will find the pen "canal" that holds the "diseased" cartridge. Then I can clean out the "diseased" cartridge, ink remnants, wash and dry the canal and then put in a new cartridge to seal the clean canal space. Now we can use the pen for many years to come. I hope this helps explain what a root canal is in plain English. Please call or visit and allow us to serve you!

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