The dreaded root canal has changed, here's the latest: Have you ever heard a story about a successful root canal? How boring would it be if your friend came back from the dentist saying "you know, it didn't hurt and it was finished in a single appointment!"

Root canal or endodontic therapy involves cleaning the pulp ("nerve") out of the center of a tooth and filling the tooth with a sealer so bacteria can't invade the tooth. Endodontics is necessary to keep teeth where the pulp has been infected, has died, or is acutely painful and irreversibly inflamed. Sometimes an antibiotic will be prescribed to clear infection before the canals are sealed to prevent bacteria from being trapped inside the tooth. Typically, this is done in a single visit, as long as there is no overt infection.