Root Canal Treatment
What is root canal treatment?
When the nerves and blood vessels inside a tooth lose their vitality because of cracks and fractures, tooth decay, improper earlier treatment or faulty restorations, root canal treatment is needed. It involves removing the infected nerve tissue from the canals of the tooth, disinfecting them and sealing them with root canal filling materials.
When is root canal treatment needed?
- When decay has reached the nerve of the tooth,
- When trauma has caused a fracture that involves the nerve,
- When excessive force during orthodontic treatment has caused the tooth to lose its vitality,
- In advanced gum disease,
- To relieve sensitivity caused by severe tooth wear,
- When fillings or prostheses have been made too high.
How can you tell that a tooth needs root canal treatment?
- Very severe sensitivity to hot and cold,
- Pain with no apparent trigger, especially at night,
- Toothache when eating,
- Discoloration of the tooth as a result of nerve death,
- Facial swelling caused by an abscess,
- In some cases, the need for treatment is discovered during dental and radiographic examinations even when there are no symptoms.
What are the stages of root canal treatment?
- Anesthesia ensures that you feel no pain.
- The decay is removed or the broken fragment is taken out, and the nerve of the tooth is accessed.
- The nerve and tissue inside the root are cleaned out.
- The root canal is shaped all the way to the root tip.
- Depending on the condition of the tooth, treatment may be completed in a single visit or may take several visits.
- Between visits, the canal is dressed with medication that helps the inside and tip of the root heal.
- In the final stage, the canal is filled to the root tip with special filling materials.
Frequently Asked Questions
After root canal treatment, the tooth may feel slightly sore and sensitive, especially when chewing. It is fine to take a mild anti-inflammatory medication for a few days after treatment.
Do not eat or drink anything until the anesthesia has worn off.
Throughout treatment, avoid nuts and similar hard foods, as well as sticky foods such as chewing gum, on the side of the treated tooth. Most tooth fractures occur between appointments.
Take care not to dislodge the temporary filling between appointments.
Because anesthesia is given during root canal treatment, the patient does not feel any pain.
Thanks to the materials and techniques used in modern root canal treatment, most abscesses at the root tip can be treated, so the tooth usually does not need to be extracted.
Under normal circumstances, antibiotics are not needed during root canal treatment. However, they may be prescribed if there is an advanced infection or the tooth is extremely sensitive.
Yes. A root canal filling is the process of cleaning and filling the root canal. The filling procedure, on the other hand, restores the visible crown of the tooth with a composite filling, inlay, onlay or crown, depending on how much of it has been damaged.
Root canal treatments performed correctly under sterile conditions have a success rate of 90–95%. A root canal may fail if nerve tissue was left behind during treatment, if microorganisms leak into the canal because the root filling or the restoration on top was inadequate, or if a perforation or fracture occurred during treatment. Signs of a failed root canal include pain when eating, spontaneous pain, and swelling and redness around the root tip. A failed root canal is redone through retreatment. If this is not sufficient, an apical resection (apicoectomy) is performed: the root tip is accessed surgically, the infection is cleaned out and the area is sealed. If both retreatment and surgery prove insufficient, extraction of the tooth should be considered.