You don’t need a referral to see us for your Root Canal procedure
To make endodontic treatment easier to understand, it's convenient to know the anatomy of the tooth. Inside a tooth, beneath the white enamel and the hard layer known as dentin, there is a soft tissue called pulp. It contains nerves, blood vessels, connective tissue and it creates the surrounding hard material of the tooth during its early evolution. The pulp expands from the top or crown of the tooth to the end of the roots where it attaches to the root’s surrounding tissues. The pulp is necessary to the tooth in its early stages, however, once a tooth has developed sufficiently, it can survive without it as it is nourished by surrounding tissues.
When the soft inner section of the tooth becomes infected, the whole tooth begins to die. This is where root canal treatment is necessary to save the tooth. The surgery removes the pulp from the tooth to prevent infection spread to the surrounding teeth. The root canal will also relieve the patient’s pain and allow for proper healing. Once the pulp it's removed, our dentist will fill the inside of the tooth with a filling material to protect the tooth from any further damage or future infection. The root canal treatment will stop the bacteria from entering the bloodstream and contaminating or infecting other areas of the body.
Those with heart problems, artificial valves, congenital disabilities or defects are at risk of infection associated with root canal surgery. Therefore they must take antibiotics before and after their root canal treatment.
1.- Local anesthesia is firstly administered by injection in order to numb the tooth and surrounding tissues. This is performed in a sterile, uncontaminated environment.
2.- A small hole is made through the bite surface of the affected tooth. This allows access to the pulp chamber and root canals. The dead pulp tissue is then carefully extracted. Once the pulp has been eliminated along with the nerves it contains, the tooth will no longer be in pain. The channels are then disinfected with antiseptic and antibacterial solutions.
3.- Root canal fillings are placed in the freshly prepared channels. Then a rubber-like material called “gutta-percha” is used to fill the channel space along with an adhesive cement called sealant.
4.- Next, a temporary or permanent filling material will be inserted, sealing the access hole, and the dental dam will be extracted. Your dentist may need to insert a metal post in one of the channels of the tooth to help retain it if the tooth structure is too weak.
5.- Finally, your tooth will need a crown to replace the structure and provide a complete seal on the upper part of the tooth. Many studies show that if the filled root canals are contaminated with bacteria from the mouth, there could be a recurrence of the infection around the tooth. Therefore it is imperative that the tooth be completely sealed off.
Root canal treatment does not cause pain,
on the contrary, relieves it, and saves teeth.
on the contrary, relieves it, and saves teeth.
