| What we do – Dental
Problems |
| Root Canal Treatment |
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| Sometimes
a tooth can become infected or inflamed – it may
be very sensitive to temperature, there may be swelling
in the area or the tooth may be very painful to bite
on. When this happens a dentist can offer two solutions – either
extract the diseased tooth or provide root canal treatment. |
| What the dentist does |
 Root canal treatment or endodontic
treatment, as dentists call it, involves cutting an access
cavity into the tooth, so that the dentist can clean
out the hollow space within the centre of the tooth – the
pulp chamber. The dentist then finds the root canal(s) – fine
canals which run down from the central pulp chamber to
the ends of the roots. There can be just one or many
root canals depending on the tooth, and they must all
be found and treated for the root canal treatment to
be successful. |
| Once inside the tooth the
dentist will clean out the dead and dying material and
then clean and shape the root canals. In order to complete
this part of root treatment correctly it is essential
for a dentist to take x-rays of the tooth or use an electronic
device, which determines how long the root canals are.
Once all the measurements are taken and the root canals
prepared, then the dentist places the root filling which
runs up to, but not beyond the end of each root canal.
This root filling will fill the canal completely and
produce a tight seal at the end of the canal. The dentist
will then take a final x-ray to check that the root filling
is correctly positioned. |
| The length of the treatment |
| The length of the procedure
varies. Straightforward cases may be completed in ½ to
1 hour. More demanding teeth may take considerably longer
- sometimes over two hours. Such cases (and very infected
teeth) will frequently necessitate more than one visit
before the procedure is completed. |
| Will it hurt? |
| The symptoms associated with
root canal treatment will depend on the complexity of
the case, but with adequate local anaesthetic the procedure
itself should be painless. It is normal to have some
slight discomfort for 2 or 3 days after treatment. The
pain however, can usually be controlled with over-the-counter
analgesics. |
| After root treatment |
| A root treated tooth should
feel the same as a healthy tooth, but it will be more
brittle than the same live tooth and it is important
to have a strengthening restoration placed soon after
root treatment, otherwise the teeth can split and be
lost. |
| What can go wrong? |
| Unfortunately sometimes root
filling material is not positioned at the correct length – either
too short or too long, and the tooth infection can return.
Alternatively sometimes the root canal cleaning instruments
can perforate through the side of the root causing infection
around the tooth. In all cases where root treatment has
failed immediate attention should be provided by a dentist,
and treatment thereafter may involve referral to a specialist
in root canal treatment, known as an endodontist. |
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