When your teeth become damaged and decayed, an infection begins from the inside of the tooth.
A root canal is a procedure that removes decay and infection from the inside of a tooth. This may sound intense, but with our minimally invasive approach, we are able to restore your teeth quickly and without the discomfort of outdated methods.
Decades ago, when the dentist told you you needed a root canal, that was really bad news. It was a traumatic procedure involving metal tools that would invade and scrape the interior of your tooth.
Strangely enough, that’s still how most dentists in Encinitas do it. However, at Moonlight Beach Dental, root canal treatment isn’t painful or invasive. Dr. Vane is proud to offer laser root canal treatments to remove the infection from your tooth with the speed and precision of a laser.
The laser is used to “open” the tooth so that the canal can be accessed. This is painless. There is no vibration like a traditional drill so there is no risk of creating micro-fractures in the canals.
The laser then sends a powerful shockwave into the water in the canal. This bounces off the walls of the root system – freeing up decay that otherwise can’t be cleaned with conventional methods. This process is painless and can take as little as 20 seconds.
Once the area is free of debris, ozone, water, and other agents are used to kill any remaining bacteria or spirochetes.
This is critical so re-infection doesn’t occur. Multiple sterilization steps here are a good thing!
Next, the canals are sealed with bioceramic materials that do not contain heavy metal barium, the typical filling material, which eliminates the possibility of any reaction due to metal allergies.
Our priority is to keep you informed, every step of the way. Here are a few questions that patients frequently ask.
Yes, unlike traditional root canals, which can be painful and traumatic, laser root canals are truly painless.
In addition to being painless and non-traumatic, laser root canals provide a far superior cleaning of the tooth’s interior – killing bacteria to the point of near-sterilization. This means there is a much lower chance of latent infection, less additional costs and root canal work for the patient, and a much lower chance of larger health issues due to undiagnosed abscesses resulting from remaining infection in the root canal.
In the short term, traditional root canals cost anywhere from $600 to $900. Laser root canals typically cost between $1400 and $1600, depending on the tooth. However, in the long term, laser root canals can cost less because there is a significantly lower chance of reinfection due to the superior cleaning method. Dental insurance will usually cover around $300 toward either procedure, upon approval.