Root Canal Treatment
What is Root Canal Treatment?
A Root Canal Treatment, also referred to as “endodontic treatment”, is the removal of soft tissue from the inside of a tooth. Our teeth have hollow spaces called pulp chambers and canals. These spaces contain blood vessels and nerve tissue, otherwise know as pulp tissue. In order to treat infected, cracked or painful teeth, Root Canal Treatments are often recommended in order to remove these tissues from the tooth and promote healing and relief. Root canals Treatments are important procedures because they allow us to to save existing teeth that might otherwise need to be removed.
Why would I need Root Canal Treatment?
Root canal treatments become necessary when the pulp becomes severely inflamed or infected. This can occur for many reasons including tooth decay, grinding, a cracked tooth or other form of trauma. Some typical symptoms of a tooth requiring Root Canal Treatment may include:
- Severe or prolonged sensitivity to hot and/or cold
- Pain when chewing
- A toothache that wakes you up at night
- A bump, bubble or swelling in the gum tissue
- An infection that results in swelling of face, head or neck
- Discolouration of the affected tooth
In some cases, there may be no symptoms at all. Your dentist will inform you if you require Root Canal Treatment.
How is Root Canal Treatment done?
Root canal treatment is considered as one of the most effective way to repair and save a highly infected tooth. This may require few visits to dentist as it is a multistep process. Before starting this treatment, your dentist will examine X-Ray reports to spot the exact location of decay, crack or infection. The first step of Root Canal Treatment is to give local anaesthesia near the infected tooth and to make an opening near the chewing part of the infected tooth. The contaminated pulp is extracted through this opening followed by cleaning the root canal and pulp chamber to avoid any further infections. Next step after cleaning is root filling, which is nothing but filling the roots that have been opened in order to remove the pulp with tiny cone-shaped pieces of gutta-percha (a firm rubber-like material) and sealed it off. Then lastly, the type of tooth and its remaining sound structure will dictate the sort of dental restoration (white filling or inlay/onlay or crown) your tooth will require to have a proper look and a solid structure.
Root Canal Treatment Steps
Is Root Canal Treatment painful?
Contrary to popular belief, Root Canal Treatments are generally painless. In rare instances, a severely infected tooth can interfere with the effectiveness of local anaesthetic. In these situations, it is often recommended that antibiotics be taken before starting this procedure. Post operative discomfort, if it exists, may last several days and is typically triggered when chewing on the treated tooth. Therefore, anti-inflammatory medications are prescribed and the patient is instructed to avoid chewing on the treated tooth until the symptoms subside. Some patients may also experience minor soreness at the injection site(s) for a short time.
To find out more about Root Canal Treatment or to book an appointment at Krystal Dental call 020 8995 6398 or email to dentist@krystaldental.co.uk