Root Canal

What is a root canal treatment?

The root canal treatment, also sometimes referred to as root canal therapy, is simply the removal of damaged or infected nerves and tissue from the inside of your tooth.

Inside the root of every tooth is a nerve. A substance known as pulp surrounds and protects the nerve and a blood supply that extends out the end of the root to connect with your circulatory system. This space inside the root is called the canal space.

Root canal therapy involves the drilling of a small opening in the tooth, and the subsequent removal by the dentist of the nerve, blood supply and pulp. The canal is then cleaned, shaped, and sterilized. After that ,the end of the root and the canal space is sealed off with a filling material, much like a cavity or hole in your tooth would be filled. A root canal is a repair to the inside of the tooth and is the only alternative for internal tooth nerve damage or tooth abscess besides having the tooth removed.

A proper root canal treatment allows you to keep a tooth you would otherwise have to have extracted. Once there is infection inside the tooth, there is no real cure; only removal of the tooth or a root canal will take care of the situation. The bacteria continue to spread to the nerve and surrounding tissue. Recent research has found that such infections can do more than simply affect your mouth. Untreated dental conditions such as those requiring a root canal can actually be contributing risk factors in heart disease, diabetes, stroke and other conditions.

Many people will wonder why medications, such as antibiodics, cannot cure the infection. The fact is that the tissues swell, cutting off the blood supply so there is no effective way to get the medication to the area. Yes, these medications can help the surrounding tissue, but they cannot reach the inside of the tooth itself.

Without proper treatment, a diseased tooth will eventually abscess and could become a life threatening situation. With your brain lying only inches away from the affected tooth, there have been cases of systemic infection that resulted in death.

Although most root canals done today are pain free, root canal treatment remains one of life's most dreaded dental procedures. Its bad reputation from the early days of dentistry has not been forgotten. Unfortunately, this leads many who really need the procedure to avoid it at all cost. However, the real cost of a root canal is not in the wrongly anticipated pain, but in the damage that could be done if the condition is left untreated.

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