A root canal treatment has to be performed if the dental nerve in the pulp of the tooth has died and/or is infected. As a patient, you may or may not experience pain leading up to a root canal. Some causes for the pulp dying includes deep seated caries, severe heat during the cutting of a tooth. Pulp nerves sometimes die because of chemicals used by the dentist for example white fillings called composites. The commonly referred tooth, dead tooth, can lead to acute or even life threatening complications at any time because the necrotic dental nerve tissue can cause acute infection, these are called abscesses.

The objective of root canal treatment is to completely remove the destroyed tissue which may also be infected with bacteria in some cases from the interior of the tooth so that the infection is prevented from spreading to the bone. Tooth is connected to the bone through the numerous small canals at the end of the root. Since a complete cleaning of the interior of the root is never one hundred percent successful, the dentists attempts to close the pulp cavity tightly with a special compound so that any remaining bacteria inside don’t have space to multiply. This means absolute cleanliness and sterile working environment are prerequisite for any root canal treatment. In order to facilitate this in the mouth, it’s imperative that the dentist works after isolating the tooth because this is the only way to prevent saliva or blood from reaching the interior of the tooth. Saliva contains many different bacteria that can endanger the success of root canal. Furthermore, it’s very important to work with sterile instruments. Instrument box is opened just prior to the procedure. The various instruments are neatly arranged. However in far too many cases, root canal work is performed with unsterilized instruments. With the aid of sterile instruments, the dentist can begin to clear and clean the interior of the tooth. Special solutions are used intermittently for rinsing in order to remove tooth chips, debris and bacteria. It’s important that all canals are reconditioned. Most teeth have several canals. Therefore precise and cautious dentist always works with magnification such as medical magnifying glasses or even a microscope.

The dental canal must be fully reconditioned all the way to the root end; the length of the root is estimated by means of x-rays and measuring aids. Only a well reconditioned tooth filled all the way down to the root end can be preserved permanently. If the tooth has a strong foul order, if pain is experienced or if there is severe bleeding from the interior of the tooth, then the final filling of the tooth interior should not be done.

In such cases, a medication is tightly sealed for a couple of days. However the temporary sealing material must be absolutely saliva proof. As it keeps the tooth tight for about one week, another session must take place no longer than a week after the initial session otherwise bacteria from the saliva will enter the interior of the tooth and entire previous procedure would have to be repeated. Once the inside of the tooth is completely cleaned, and tooth no longer causes any discomfort, then the interior of the tooth is tightly sealed with a special compound. The tooth should also be tightly sealed from the top; because only then it is guaranteed that bacteria can no longer enter. Such a tooth is able to provide a valuable service for entire lifetime. Badly treated tooth can cause trouble even after many years and can lead to a variety of complications such as an acute bone infection or an abscess In this case a root end resection and /or tooth extraction would be necessary. One possible alternative of a root canal is a tooth extraction. That makes the prevention the best alternative. Root canal treatment is done with manual or/and rotary instruments.

The risks associated with root canal are instruments breaking during root canal treatments, the dentist missing root canals, a perforation of the canal and the dental crown, over instrumentation with respective possible consequences such as maxillary sinusitis.

Visit your dentist today to find out if you need a root canal treatment.READY TO GET THE SMILE YOU ALWAYS WANTED?