What is a Root Canal Treatment?
Root canal therapy is a frequently performed dental procedure to treat a tooth with infected or dead pulp tissue.
Root canal treatment involves the removal of the infected pulp tissues and nerve of the tooth, the cleaning and shaping of the pulp chamber and root canals, and finally the filling and sealing of the tooth.
Tooth infections can spread to other parts of the body, causing serious and sometimes life threatening complications. Until some decades ago, it was not rare for someone to die because of a tooth infection. Later, before the development of modern dental procedures, extraction was the only way to treat an infected tooth. Today, root canal treatment provides an effective way to treat the infection and save an infected or/and abscessed tooth.
Root Canal is a procedure that saves many teeth that would otherwise have to be extracted, and allows us to keep our natural teeth for many more years.
What are root canals / dental pulp?
The pulp is a soft tissue located at the inner tooth under the protective layers of the tooth enamel and dentin. It contains connective tissue, nerves and blood vessels that nourish the tooth. The main part of the pulp is found in the pulp chamber at the center of the tooth.Learn more details about Tooth anatomy - Parts of a tooth
The nerves enter the tooth form the tips of the root and make their way to the center through hollow channels in the roots called root canals. Normally a tooth has as many root canals as the number of roots, varying from one to four depending on the type of tooth.
When Do You Need Root Canal Treatment?
The common reason for root canal therapy is an infected or abscessed tooth.Conditions that may lead to the need for root canal treatment can be untreated tooth decay, periodontal disease, trauma, fractured tooth or even repeated dental restorative procedures.
Any condition that allows bacteria to reach to the pulp of the tooth may be responsible for a root canal. If the dental pulp is infected by bacteria and inflamed, besides the strong pain induced, the bacteria may get through the root canals to the area around the tips of the roots (periapical area), creating a tooth abscess.
Learn more details about tooth infections and tooth abscess
Root canal treatment is necessary in order to save the tooth by removing the infected or damaged pulp, treating the infection, and sealing the tooth.
Sometimes a root canal may be needed even if there is no infection or inflammation of the pulp or nerve. This could happen in teeth that have suffered significant structural damage, and they can not support a crown or other prosthetic work. In these cases the pulp has to be removed, to allow the placement of a metal post inside the pulp area that could support the crown.
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article published under a license from Web Dental Office
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