Root canal treatment is a treatment method which is used to recover and repair a decayed and infected tooth. This treatment is performed when the dental pulp that contains nerves and blood vessels in teeth, is damaged. During the root canal treatment the pulp is extirpated, tooth is cleaned, tooth canals are treated and tooth is filled with a material which is compatible with tooth texture instead of taken pulp.
Patients generally think that, this is a painful procedure, but this is not true. The pain that patients take during the root canal treatment is same as during the filling treatment.
What is the pulp?
Soft tissue, which exists in the middle of the tooth, is named as pulp. There are blood vessels and nerve cells inside of the pulp. These nerve cells are sensitive to hot and cold.
Bacterias start to accumulate in the pulp in the situations like decay, broken tooth and gum disease which hasn’t been treated for a long time. These bacterias cause to infection and apse in the pulp.
Symptoms which shows that the root canal treatment is necessary
- If the tooth is extremely sensitive to hot or cold
- Swelling and sensitiveness in the gums
- Color changes on the teeth
- Sharp tooth ache during the chewing
Process of root canal treatment
Root canal treatment can be performed in one or more than one appointments, according to the damage in the tooth.
Anesthesia
In the first step of treatment, x-ray is taken to be able to see the condition of the root canals and it is determined whether there is any infection or not. Local anesthesia is done to the treatment area to make patient feel more comfortable. Your dentist may use latex preservative materials to keep treatment area dry.
Extirpating the pulp and cleaning the canal
In the second step of the treatment a hole is opened to be able to reach the pulp. The pulp is extirpated with infected nerve tissues. After taking the pulp, the kanal is enlarged to clean the root canal well and to be able to make the root canal filling precisely.. Before filling the canal, dentist makes sure that the canal is completely cleaned. If more than one session is necessary, then canal is closed with temporary fillings.
Filling the canal
After cleaning process is finished, filling process starts. There may not be a need to anesthesia for this process. If a temporary filling was placed before, this filling is taken to access to inside of the tooth. A rubber compound is used to fill the tooth.
Restore
The last step of root canal treatment is restoring the tooth. The tooth has to be protected from damages in the future and turned to it’s normal function, since the tooth weakened because of the performed procedures and infection that it had.
Dental Care after the treatment
Dental care should be taken carefully after the root canal treatment. You should avoid to eat hard foods until the treatment is completed. After the last step of the treatment, pain does not appear but there can be sensitiveness in the teeth. Painkillers can be used to remove any discomfort. If there is still pain or swelling after you used the painkiller, you should consult with your dentist.