The sole purpose of a root canal is to take a tooth that is salvageable and remove the infection that is threatening the life of the tooth.
Infection that pervades the structure of a tooth can do more harm than one might think such as escalate into an abscess. This type of infection can spread from the mouth into other parts of the body.
Each tooth has at least one root, while larger teeth contain two, three or more roots. When a root canal is performed, your dentist is essentially removing the contents of the root of the infected tooth. The interior of the root contains mostly blood, pulp and nerve. Once a tooth erupts, the interior of the root no longer serves a useful purpose, making its removal inconsequential to the survival of the tooth.
When a root canal is performed, your dentist is essentially removing the contents of the root of the infected tooth.
Once the decision to perform a root canal is reached, it is critical that each of the tooth’s roots be treated. This is why x-rays are taken. The dentist can determine exactly how many roots the tooth has and their relative position. Quite often the root of a tooth is lying at an angle that makes access to the root very difficult.
After each root has been treated, the dentist will pack the canal with gutta percha or a similar material that will insulate the interior of the tooth and help protect the tooth where the dentist breached the exterior of the tooth to enter the canal.
The last step of a root canal is to place a final restoration on the tooth. Depending on which tooth was treated, this can be a composite resin filling or more often a crown will be placed on the tooth.
One might ask why try to save the tooth if a crown is going to be needed anyway? Any time a tooth can be saved, this is a much better option than removing the tooth. Once a tooth is removed, the patient is looking at one of several options to replace the tooth. This is costly, time consuming, and in reality nothing can compare to having all your natural teeth.
Although the reputation of a root canal is one that conjures up fear and trepidation, in reality with the techniques used today, a root canal is quick, easy and a most successful procedure to save a tooth.
If you would like more information on the root canal procedure, contact the Arlington office of Dr. Daggula today to schedule an informative consultation.
