Root Canal (endodontic therapy)
Back to Restorative
Endodontics is a dental specialty that is focused on the nerves of teeth. A root canal is a procedure performed to remove the nerve and blood vessels inside the tooth that is infected or dying. The canal is cleaned, disinfected and the resulting space inside the root is backfilled with a rubber material called gutta percha. When the root canal is completed, a crown is usually recommended because it could become brittle. A root canal allows you to keep and preserve your natural tooth that would otherwise require extraction. There are many reasons that teeth can become infected, including cavities, previous large fillings, crowns, cracks, trauma, and extreme wear.
Having a root canal done is a treatment of choice to maintain your natural dentition and in many cases, is the more economical route if you wish to have a tooth present. Extraction of the tooth, although the most economic solution at first, becomes more expensive when you wish to replace the tooth back to its natural state by means of a dental implant.
Root canal therapy although very successful, they are not a 100% guaranteed. To increase the success rate of the root canal, a permanent restoration such as a crown is needed to protect the tooth from fracture, decay, or reinfection of the tooth.
Why do I need a root canal?
- Decay has reached the nerve of the tooth
- Internal resorption
- Injury/dental trauma to the tooth causing the tooth to die
- Extreme wear
- Crack or fracture from a large filling
What Does Root Canal Therapy Involve?
A root canal procedure usually takes 1-2 appointments and begins by getting the tooth numb and placement of a rubber dam. This rubber dam assures the proper isolation around a tooth in order to keep it clean. An access hole at the top of the tooth is created to get to the nerve and when the nerve is reached, it is removed and disinfected. If infection is well established, medicine will be placed to allow the tooth to heal. When the tooth has had time to heal, a second appointment will be needed to backfill the canal space with the rubber material. When the procedure is completed, the tooth will need time to heal. Once healed, a crown procedure can then be done for the tooth's final restoration.
