Root canal treatment

Years ago when a tooth used to start hurting, or a swelling around it was noticed, the only way out to get relief, was to get rid of them tooth. So dentists used to extract the tooth in question. But now science allows us to save the tooth by a rather painless and easy method called ROOT CANAL TREATMENT

WHEN DOES A TOOTH NEED A ROOT CANAL TREATMENT?

a)       Throbbing pain in the tooth which especially increases on lying in bed at night

b)       Sensation to hot and or cold food/drinks

c)       Swelling around the gum or in the jaw bone

WHY DOES A TOOTH NEED A ROOT CANAL TREATMENT?

Tooth decay if left untreated spreads into the substance of the tooth ultimately infecting the pulp. Once the pulp becomes infected with more bacteria than it can handle, it begins to degenerate. As with any infection there is formation of pus, which tends to get accumulated at the tip of the roots within the jawbone, forming a "pus-pocket" called an abscess. This abscess not only causes pain and swelling but also affects the jawbone.

WHAT IS A ROOT CANAL TREATMENT?

Root canal is the treatment in which the infected pulp is removed from the tooth and the space occupied by it is cleaned and filled with a special filling material.

HOW IS A ROOT CANAL TREATMENT DONE?

a)       In  the first step, an opening is created in order to reach the infected pulp area using a dental drill. After the access is gained, the infected contents of the pulp chamber are carefully removed using special instruments.

 b)       In this step the hollow space which once contained the infected pulp is cleaned and shaped. Cleaning is usually done with the help of saline water and thin dental files. These files are moved along the surface of the root canal making it large and smooth. This procedure not only removes traces of bacteria from the root canal, but also makes the root canal more receptive to the filling that is to follow. ROTARY ENDODONTIC FILES- the recent technology used in root canal treatment includes the use of rotary endodontic files that employ an engine to rotate the endodontic file during root canal treatment. The advantages of rotary endodontics are reduced instrumentation times and fewer files used during the procedure. Commonly Nickel-Titanium files are used because of their greater flexibility which permits increasingly curved roots to be treated.

 

c)     Once the canals have been cleaned with the files, the canals are filled with a special filling material. The purpose of this filling material is to seal the canals and prevent future infections inside the tooth. After the canals have been filled, the tooth is covered by a crown. This protects the now fragile tooth from fracture.