Root Canal Therapy

 

Root canal treatment is sometimes the only way to save a tooth. Severe damage to a tooth- may be the result of a deep cavity, gum disease, or an injury- can usually only be repaired by root canal treatment. Successful treatment means you can keep your tooth.

Also called endodontics, root canal treatment is the process of removing the infected, injured, or dead pulp from a tooth. Pulp, the soft tissue containing nerves and blood vessels, runs through the centre or root canal of a tooth.

Your tooth's pulp can become infected by a deep cavity or gum disease. Watch for signs of a tooth becoming discoloured or for pain and swelling around a tooth. Your tooth can also become damaged by an injury. If your tooth is badly broken, it is often necessary to perform a root canal.

Don't wait until it hurts. Call your dentist as soon as you experience symptoms or have an injury. He or she can almost always repair or save your tooth. Timely attention to a broken tooth or to signs of pulp damage is important to ensure that root canal treatment is successful and your tooth can be saved.

There may, in some cases, not be any obvious signs of damage. Your dentist looks for infection and damage to your teeth during regular dental visits. Frequently, only a dental X-ray can detect the need for root canal treatment.

While your dentist may perfom some endodontic treatments, he or she may refer more complicated cases to a specialist, called an endodontist. In the case of baby teeth, your dentist may refer your child to a specialist, called a pediatric dentist.

Here's How It's Done:

- Your dentist makes a small hole in your tooth. This exposes the root canal and the damaged pulp. Local anaesthetic is usually, but not always, required.

- He or she removes the damaged pulp and enlarges the root canal by carefully cleansing it with precision instruments. You may be given topical antiseptics to prevent infection.

- Once the root canal has been cleaned of all damaged pulp, it is filled and sealed with a safe, rubber-like material.The root canal treatment is now complete. However, your tooth still needs to be restored to it's normal function and appearance.

- Your dentist may bleach, fill, or crown your tooth. The restorative treatment selected will depend on the extent of the discolouration or damage involved, and on which tooth has had the root canal treatment (most back teeth need to be repaired with a crown).

- Some people may experience mild swelling or discomfort after root canal treatment, although this is rare. If this occurs, call your dentist- he or she may prescribe medication or recommend additional treatment.

Why Root Canal?

Successful root canal treatment lets you keep your tooth.

The only alternative is to have your tooth removed. Dentists today believe that the best teeth are your own, and they do their utmost to make sure you don't lose any.

Retaining your tooth has short and long-term benefits. It helps to prevent neighbouring teeth from drifting out of line and causing jaw problems or gum disease.

Saving natural teeth avoids more extensive and expensive replacement treatments, such as bridges or implants.

Things to Consider

 

Root canal treatment generally requires one to three lengthy visits, depending on what tooth has been damaged (molars can have three or four canals), on the degree of pulp infection (badly infected versus recent pulp exposure), and on the technique used to restore your tooth (crowns required for back teeth, treatment of gum disease, bleaching of discoloured teeth, for example).

Anaesthetic is usually used to numb the area around your tooth, and drilling is required to reach the pulp chamber. Some people may experience some mild discomfort and/or swelling after treatment, although this is rare.

Sometimes a root canal can cause discolouration of the tooth, requiring bleaching, bonding, or crowning to restore the natural colour.

If the tooth is abscessed (meaning the pulp has died and the infection has entered the bone that anchors the tooth), the infection may have to be drained before the empty root can be filled.

Having a root canal and a crown does not guarantee there will be no future decay or gum disease.

Although the success rate is high for endodontic treatment, a small percentage of cases are unsuccessful. Under most circumstances, these teeth can still be saved. A minor surgical procedure is usually the next step. In rare cases, all attempts to save the tooth fails and it must be extracted.