A Root Canal or Endodontic Therapy is needed when the nerve of the tooth is infected or irreversibly inflamed. The cause of such infection/inflammation can be from several things such as deep decay, trauma to the tooth, cracks/chips or repeated dental treatment. The symptoms indicating the possible necessity of a root canal can include visible injury to the tooth, swelling of the gingiva beside the tooth, severe pain to temperature, or just plain and simple pain in the tooth.
A root canal cleans out the inside of the tooth known as the pulp and removes all infected/inflamed tissue and seals the canal with filling material called Gutta Percha. Root Canal Therapy allows us to treat a tooth non-surgically and avoids an extraction thus preventing the need of a bridge or an implant. It is always important to save your teeth and keep them present in your mouth. Extractions lead to spaces which may cause your teeth to move and shift. Treating a tooth with a root canal eliminates this concern.
After a root canal is completed it is important to restore the tooth with a crown to provide the proper full coverage strength for the tooth to have a healthy long term prognosis.
Procedure Steps:
1. Administer anesthesia to ensure your comfort
2. A dental dam isolates the tooth
3. Access the center of the tooth (the pulp) and remove all decay/diseased tooth structure
4. Clean and sterilize the canal space, shape it with specialized instruments
5. Seal the canal space with filling material
6. Permanent restoration is completed
