As your tooth gets older, the structure that holds your tooth in place wears down. Eventually, bacteria can penetrate into the soft inner chamber of the tooth through cracks in the hard outer layer of enamel. To save your tooth, a root canal may be recommended. After removing all decay, our dentist cleans and disinfects the pulp chamber, then fills it with a material to protect against future infections. Typically done under local anesthesia, root canal therapy is often used as an alternative to extraction.