Root Canal Treatment

Root canal treatment is the most commonly applied tooth salvage treatment in preventive dentistry and is the core of the dentistry department which we call endodontics.

Thanks to the endodontia/root canal treatment that is built on salvaging decayed or aching tooth instead of pulling it; it is possible to prevent tooth loss by filling even the deepest and biggest cavities.

What is Endodontics?

As the structure of the tooth is discovered and the different needs of dental treatments are analyzed, dentistry is divided into departments: Such as endodontics, orthodontics, periodontics…

Endodontics is the specialty that deals with dental pulp. Problems that occur in the nerves and other tissues that form the internal structure of the tooth, and their treatments fall under the field of endodontics, in other words, the dental pulp.

Removing the dental pulp and filling the tooth with root canal treatment is an endodontic treatment, but it is commonly known as root canal treatment.

What is Root Canal Treatment?

Root canal treatment is a type of endodontic treatment that we perform to salvage the tooth in infected dental cavities that have reached nerves. It can be performed by an endodontist or dentist. After the cavities are cleaned the nerves in the tooth roots that transmit the hot-cold sensation to the brain are removed. Filling and salvaging the emptied teeth canals and teeth structure with filling is called root canal treatment.

Root canal treatment is the foremost of most commonly performed procedures and it is an extremely important treatment to protect oral and dental health.

Dental cavities are generally ignored and they continue to progress through the tooth layers. The process which starts with the increase in hot-cold sensation causes inflammation of pulp as the cavity deepens. When a patient consults to a dentist with an abscess and severe toothache the case is generally at a point that requires root canal treatment.

Why is the Root Canal Treatment Done?

Which situations require root canal treatment? Does every tooth cavity need root canal treatment? The answer to such a question is important for reminding the early cavity treatment once again.

Pulp starts to degrade structurally due to decay on the tooth surface as the food residues and bacteria in the mouth settle in the pulp, feed there, reach the tooth root in a short time and cause infection.

Root canal treatment is applied to salvage the tooth when the cavity is deepened and caused inflammation that reaches the roots of the teeth. The infection caused by the decay that started at the tooth surface spreads from tooth roots to the jawbone and gingiva from there and might cause negative consequences that might extend to tooth loss.

This is why it is important not to neglect decays, yet thanks to root canal treatment we are able to prevent tooth loss even in advanced cavities and heal gingiva.

What Does Root Canal Treatment Do? What are the advantages?

Root canal treatment means salvaging the tooth and/or tooth roots. This situation provides a great advantage in terms of protecting oral and dental health from both material and moral perspectives.

Tooth loss causes gaps in the jawbone, the distance between teeth is widened, their alignment is disrupted and thus the mouth begins to age, and aesthetics of the smile gradually deteriorate.

If there is a missing tooth it is necessary to have bridge or implant treatment. A bridge means cutting two more teeth. Implantation is a costly treatment.

However, if the tooth root is intact even if the filled tooth decays in time, it is possible to use it for long years by coating it with porcelain or zirconium. Moreover, it makes the cost of implant unnecessary. In addition to all these, we can list the advantages of root canal treatment as follows:

It prevents tooth loss.
It is effective in the protection of oral and dental health.
It prevents the formation of bacteria in the mouth.
It prevents the decay from spreading to other teeth.
It destroys the environment that is causing infection and supports oral hygiene.
It allows us to treat the pulp damage that occurs due to trauma or other reasons.

Before Root Canal Treatment

If there is pain before root canal treatment and the tooth is infected, the infection should be treated first. Otherwise, the patient will experience more pain and the infection may spread inside the mouth.

The antibiotic treatment is applied before the root canal treatment to treat the infection in the tooth root. If there is no infection, antibiotics are used after the nerves are removed.

Before performing a healthy root canal treatment, the diagnosis of the infection is a highly sensitive issue. For these reasons, dentists take an x-ray scan after the dental examination to see the shape of the tooth root and to check the condition of the nerves. At this stage, the dentist decides on the treatment.

How is the Root Canal Treatment Done?

The root canal treatment is performed under local anesthesia and the patient experiences no pain during the operation. After the decayed area is cleaned, the nerves and other soft tissue are removed from the canals inside the tooth root, then the canals are cleaned with water and dried with air.

The process is repeated until the canals are completely empty. After all of that, before permanently filling the canals that are filled by temporary filling, it is waited about a week. The treatment is completed by applying the permanent canal and tooth filling to the tooth with healed tissue.

Will There Be Pain After Root Canal Treatment?

Since the infection that caused pain in the tooth before root canal treatment is largely treated by antibiotics, the pain after the treatment is not greater than before.

Since some bone tissue is removed from tooth canals while removing the nerves a temporary pain and hot-cold sensitivity might occur. After the tooth is filled, all these pains disappear in a short time.

Pain after root canal treatment is not immense yet, even if the possibility is low, painkillers are used to prevent the pain and to make the patient more comfortable.

Things to Consider After Root Canal Treatment

Following the recommendation of your doctor after root canal treatment will ensure a quick and smooth healing process. Please pay attention to using the given medicine and other oral care products as instructed. Besides those, we can summarize the points to consider after root canal treatment as follows:

Try not to put pressure on the canal-treated tooth.
Do not neglect oral and dental cleaning.
Brush your teeth gently.
Do not consume cold and hot foods and drinks for the first few days.
Do not forget to have your teeth checked every 6 months.

How long does the tooth with root canal treatment last?

For the teeth that are salvaged with root canal treatment; teeth that are well made then taken good care of by the patients may last for a lifetime. However, depending on many variables, this period is different for everyone.

The patient’s hormonal structure, bone tissue, and oral care habits correspond to an important part of the factors that determine the longevity of the treated tooth. The lifetime of the implantation depends on the success of the treatment, the quality of the tooth filling material, and the regular dentist controls.

If it is not taken good care of, even if it does not last for a lifetime, it is an application that lasts for long years. It is possible to say that it can be used without problems for up to ten years.