The space inside the hard layers of a tooth is called the root canal system. This system is filled with soft dental pulp made up of nerves and blood vessels that help your tooth grow and develop. If the nerve of your tooth becomes infected, a root canal treatment lets you keep the tooth rather than having to pull it out. Root canal treatment is the process of removing infected, injured or dead dental pulp from your tooth.

A root canal can take one or two visits, and the dentist may recommend placing a crown on your tooth after having the root canal done.