What Is Root Canal Treatment?

You might have often heard about someone telling you that the doctor has told them to go for a root canal. Well, hundreds of thousands of people undergo this treatment to relieve tooth pain and prevent any further decay. These treatments are fairly common, and you can get it done from your dentist or endodontist.

Before knowing about the treatment, it is important to get a gist about the anatomy of our teeth. Inside the teeth is a small tissue, known as the pulp. The pulp has a lot of nerves and connective tissues. The pulp can get infected due to a number of reasons, such as decay, frequent dental procedures, etc. Due to the infection, bacteria begin to build up in pulp, which in turn leads to a host of problems including extreme discomfort around the area, swelling, bone loss, and drainage of pus in the gums. It becomes important therefore to treat the infected pulp at the earliest.

Treatment
During the treatment, a root canal dentist tries to access the damaged pulp through a hole so that it can be removed easily. The dentist also removes damaged nerves and other debris from the tooth. The inside of the tooth is cleaned using files. After cleaning the tooth, the dentist seals the tooth with gutta-percha (a rubber derived from gutta-percha trees). After that, the tooth is filled to cover up all the access holes. Dentists also use crowns to fully restore the teeth.

It is important to take care of your tooth after root canal procedure. If you face pain in the first two or three days, you can take over-the-counter painkillers to get relief. You can also use medications if there is pain and swelling in the area around the tooth. It is important to follow proper dental hygiene and visit your dentist regularly to maintaining healthy oral health.

Possible Complications
Your restored tooth can last a long time if you follow proper oral hygiene, but as it is hollow, it is prone to fractures. It can also happen that during the procedure, certain cracks develop which can cause complications later on. If the filling inside the concerned tooth has broken, you might need to refill the tooth again. Problems can also arise if the sealing materials have undergone extensive wear and tear. Although a rare case, there can be more than one root canal, and the dentist might have not been able to diagnose this. In these cases, you will need to undergo another procedure.

Costs
The cost of treatment depends to a large extent on the type of tooth and the dentist. If you decide to undergo the treatment from a reputed endodontist, the cost can be around $800 for an incisor, and $1200 for a molar. General dentists on the other hand charge lesser for root canal treatment.

This was some information of root canal procedure. If you are facing continuous pain and discomfort in your tooth/teeth, don't procrastinate or ignore it as it can develop to something more serious later on. It is advised that you visit your dentist for a preventive check-up so that dental problems are identified at an early stage and treated efficiently.

About the Author

Article was written by Larry Shaw; a Toronto based author. Larry specializes in writing on dental health, root canal treatment, root canal dentist, general dentistry, oral care and hygiene. Main Street Dental Team provides services like cosmetic dentistry and wisdom teeth extraction.Make an appointment now for your all dental needs. We strongly believe that our patients comfort is an important part of dental care.