What is meant by Root Canal Treatment ? Why it is needed?

Dental Pulp is the soft tissue which is located in the middle of a tooth beneath the outer enamel and dentin. It contains connecting tissues, nerves and blood vessels. The pulp is responsible for supplying nutrients to the surrounding areas of a tooth.

The nerves of a tooth lie with the root canals. When there is an infection in the nerves or pulp, it will affect the root canal of the tooth. Such diseased tooth can be cured with Root canal treatment.

When is root canal therapy required?

Root canal therapy is required in cases when there is an issue in the nerve or pulp inside our teeth. Following are the main factors that put the dental pulp at risk:

Pulpitis –Pulpitis is the inflamed condition of the dental pulp. This is caused by bacteria that enters into the pulp. As time passes by, the bacteria gets multiplied which leads to pulpitis. Such inflammation will increase the pressure within the pulp and blocks the blood vessels present inside the pulp.

If the normal blood flow is restricted, then the nerves and tissues cannot get nourished. This weakens the tooth bone and leads to loss of that tooth.

Periodontal diseases – The bacteria infection on gum also have their effect on the dental pulp. The chances are higher  the untreated gum diseases infect the nerves and blood vessels of your tooth.

Physical damage – Any physical damages which affect the blood vessels and nerves of a tooth is very rare. But in cases, the functioning of nerves and blood vessels got disturbed by any external pressure, it will kill the nerves and lead to tooth loss.

Signs and Symptoms

Following are some of the noticeable signs and symptoms which indicate there is an issue in the pulp of your tooth and endodontic treatment is required:

• Toothache

Toothache is the common symptom showing that there is an infection in our root canal. Usually, it appears in the night. The intensity of the pain increases when you bite, chew and put pressure on your tooth.

• Teeth sensitivity

The diseased tooth causes pain when hot or cold food items are exposed to the tooth and the intensity of pain reduces when the food particle is removed.

• Tooth Discoloration

The diseased tooth becomes darker when compared to the healthy teeth.

• Gum inflammation and you may see a thing looks like a pimple on the gum. If you press it, it starts bleeding.
• Severe pain in the surrounding areas like jaws, ear where the diseased tooth is located.
• Looks like a crack or hole in the tooth.

Root Canal Treatment Procedure

Most people are scared of treating their root canals. But the fact is it is a painless treatment. If root canal therapy is the treatment needed for your dental issue, you can fix it in just one or two appointments.

In case of damaged dental pulp, the chances are higher that the nerve is dead. Hence you will not feel any pain during the treatment. But the Endodontists provide anesthetics around the tooth to ensure the patient does not feel any pain.

Then the dental surgeon provides dental dam made up of rubber around the tooth in order to keep the teeth saliva, moisture-free and dry until the treatment completed.

Step 1

The dentist makes a hole in the tooth. The hole is longed to open the crown present inside the tooth.

Step 2

Then endodontic files are inserted into the tooth via the hole and scrub the canals of the tooth. During this process, the infected pulp is removed. With the help of root canal files, the bacteria present inside the canal is also eliminated.

Step 3

Once the decayed pulp is removed, then the hole has to be closed. But if the dentist finds any infection in the tooth, he/she will use the hole to provide medication. In such cases, the hole needs to be opened for a while. Hence, a temporary cap of filling is used to close the hole.

Step 4

The removed pulp is replaced with a sealant paste and rubber compound. This is done either as soon as after removing the pulp or after some days. It is based on the seriousness of the infection. Once the pulp is replaced, the tooth is fitted with a permanent sealant.

Conclusion

Once the treatment is completed, you need to avoid fruits, properly brush the tooth to keep it clean and take the medicines & antibodies prescribed by your doctor to avoid further infections.

Even after the root canal is treated, there are some possibilities that the tooth gets infected. Hence it is better to place a dental crown on the treated tooth. This assures that the root canal of the tooth remains healthy and stay away from infections.