How Root Canal Treatment Eliminates Your Toothache?

By Shelton Graham

It's the most feared dental treatment of all. Patients avoid going to the dentist because they do not want to hear that they need a root canal. They would rather have the tooth removed, removed forever, with a permanent space, than go through the pain of a root canal. In fact, a root canal often isn't unpleasant and, in most instances, the agony related to the tooth infection subsides in a matter of days after the treatment is complete.

Root canal treatment is required when the nerve tissue of the tooth, or pulp, gets infected or dies. The only way to remove the infection is to remove the source of the infection, the infected or dead pulp tissue. There are 2 ways to remove pulp tissue. The initial way is to get rid of the whole tooth, and the pulp tissue includes it. The second easier way to remove infected pulp tissue is to perform root canal treatment. In this procedure your dentist removes the infected pulp tissue while leaving the rest of the tooth intact.

A root canal is what a dentist does to clean out and remove only the pulp tissue of the tooth. Your dentist will first give you anesthetic to numb the tooth, so you should be comfortable in the whole process. To maintain a dry field and ensure the pulp doesn't become further tarnished with saliva and other bacteria, your dentist will place a protective barrier around the tooth, known as a rubber dam, to isolate it and keep it clean. Once the tooth is isolated, your dentist will create an opening in the top of the tooth to use the pulp tissue. Then, using tiny files, your dentist will scrape the interior of the tooth and the walls of the pulp canal space to get rid of any infected or dead nerve tissue. Your dentist will repeat this part of the procedure several times with files of varying dimensions and shapes to remove an adequate amount of pulp tissue and adequately clean the nerve canal space.

To figure out how deep to go with each set of files, your dentist may employ a device called a peak locator. This machine tells your dentist how far to go with each file and when the file reaches the end of the canal.

Now that the canal spaces are cleaned and dry, the empty spaces have to be filled. A rubber material, called gutta percha, is placed in each canal to fill the gap left by the pulp tissue. The access area your dentist made thru the top of the tooth also needs to be filled. A silver amalgam or white composite restoration fills in the rest of the tooth. Ultimately, an abiding restoration needs to be made to defend the fragile tooth from splitting. Your dentist will make a crown for the tooth, a restoration made of metal alloys and rigid porcelain, to surround the tooth and protect it from breaking.

A couple days after the root canal treatment, your toothache should be eliminated, and you still have your tooth! - 29879

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