Have your tooth is affected by decay or infection? It needs to undergo root canal therapy. This canal therapy helps to save the tooth, the pulp ( Living tissue inside the tooth), nerves, bacteria, and removed any decay resulting space is filled with special dental materials. This leads to restoring the tooth to its normal and full functions.
It is your choice if you are going to take this kind of therapy for you to save your tooth or otherwise your tooth needs to be removed. Most of the patients consider the removing of tooth is the solution if you are having a tooth decay problem. But what they are not realized is that extracting (pulling) a tooth will ultimately be more costly and cause more problems for adjacent teeth. Root canal therapy is highly successful and usually it would last although on occasion, a tooth will have to be retreated due to new some infections.
These are the signs and symptoms for possible root canal therapy:
An abscess on the gums (pimple on gums)
Hot and cold sensitivity
Severe toothache pain
Swelling
Sometimes no symptoms are present
Reasons for root canal therapy:
Decay has reached the tooth pulp (the living tissue inside the tooth).
Infection or abscess has developed inside the tooth or at the root tip.
Injury or trauma to the tooth.
What does root canal therapy involve?
A root canal procedure requires one or more appointments. It cannot be done with someone else aside from the dentist or endodontist (a root canal specialist).
A rubber dam (a sheet of rubber) will be placed around your tooth to keep it dry and free to saliva while your tooth is numb. To access the opening is made on the top of the tooth and a series or root canal files put into the opening one at a time to remove the pulp, nerve tissue, and bacteria. If tooth decay is currently seen on the tooth it will also be removed with the special dental instrument. Once the tooth is already cleaned, it would be sealed with either a permanent filling if there would not need additional appointment. If additional appointments are needed, a temporary filling will be placed.
At the next appointment, usually it would takes a week later, the roots and the cavity inside the tooth would be filled and sealed with special dental materials. A filling will be put to cover the opening on top of the tooth. In other words all teeth that have root canal treatment should have a crown (cap) placed. It would protect the tooth and prevent it from breaking and return the full functionality of the teeth.
After the therapy your tooth might still be sensitive but this will lessen the inflammation and the tooth fully healed. Each visit to your dentist the dentist would give you some instruction for good oral hygiene practices.
