When a tooth is decayed significantly or infected, root canal therapy is used to provide relief. When a tooth is infected, you will see the infection in the pulp of the tooth that has connective tissue, blood vessels and nerves. During this treatment, the pulp will be removed and the dentist will proceed to clean the inside of the tooth and seal it.
There can be a lot of pain leading up to the treatment. The soft area inside a tooth is called the pulp. The nerve to a tooth is found at the roots of the tooth. The root canal travels from this into the pulp chamber of the tooth. The reason that we have a nerve to the tooth is so that we get the sense of warmth or cold when we eat or drink. But you will not notice a big difference when the nerve to a tooth is removed. But there is a higher risk of fracturing the tooth when a root canal is carried out. The reason that the pulp of the tooth is removed during a root canal treatment is that bacteria can start spreading inside once there is damage. This will cause an infection or an abscess. There are other things that you will notice with this infection such as swelling in the face, neck etc. and the loss of bone around the root of the tooth.
There are many causes for the damage of tooth pulp. This generally occurs due to the deep decaying of the tooth. Other reasons are trauma to the face, chipped or cracked tooth, having a lot of dental procedures on one tooth etc. When such an infection occurs, you will experience a lot of pain when you chew food and there will be a high sensitivity to hot or cold temperatures. You will see some darkening of the tooth as well and the gums around the tooth will be quite tender and swollen. In certain situations, you will not see any symptoms and you will not notice when the condition of the tooth deteriorates. This is why it is so important to keep regular visits to the dental clinic. Generally, you should visit the dentist once or twice a year depending on the severity of your teeth condition.
An endodontist will usually carry out root canal therapy as they specialize in dental pulp infections and injuries. A general dentist will be able to carry out a simple root canal procedure but with heightening severity, you will need to see a specialist. This will be recommended by your normal dentist. An X-ray of the tooth will be taken to get an idea of the root canal shape and whether there is an infection. Local anaesthesia will be used during this procedure. The dentist will drill an access hole into the hole to remove the pulp with bacteria and other debris and root canal files will be used for the cleaning. The tooth will be flushed with water at regular intervals.
And after the cleaning, the tooth will be sealed. There will be medication put inside the tooth to take care of any infection. Sometimes the sealing of the tooth will happen on the same day or it will be carried out after a week.
