What is Root Canal Treatment ?
The process where infected nerves that form on the dental canals as a result of loss of liveliness of nerves and veins of teeth that appear due to the fractures and cracks on teeth, decays on teeth or wrong treatment processes, are cleaned, disinfected and filled with canal filling materials is named as root canal treatment.
When is Root Canal Treatment Required?
- For decays that have advanced till the toothnerve,
- In cases where fractures occur including tooth nerve, as a result of trauma,
- In cases where tooth losses its liveliness as a result of extreme pressure on tooth due to orthodontics treatment,
- In advanced gingiva diseases,
- In relieving the sensitivity arising due to extreme abrasion on teeth,
- In prosthesis or fillings that are realized as being high.
How Do You Understand That Root Canal Treatment Is Necessary for a Tooth?
In below cases, it is understood that treatment is needed:
- Cold and warmth sensitivity on your tooth,
- Feeling of pain without any stimulant during night time,
- Feeling of pain while eating
- Change of color on teeth due to dying of nerves,
- Swelling on face due to apsis formation,
- During dental and radiological exami- nations made with no signs in some cases
What are the Stages of Root Canal Treatment?
- First of all, it is enabled for you not to feel any pain with the anesthesia applied.
- Decays are cleaned or broken part is removed and it is reached to tooth nerves.
- Nerves and tissues at the root of tooth are cleaned.
- Root canal is shaped till root edge.
- Depending on situation of tooth, either treatment with one session or a few sessions can be made.
- During session breaks, medical dressing is applied with drugs that would recover root edge and interior part.
- At the final stage of root canal treatment, interior part of canal is filled with a special filling material till the root edge.
What are the Particulars to Pay Attention to During Root Canal Treatment?
- Until the influence of anesthesia ends, nothing should be eaten or drank.
- During the treatment, dried nuts or other similar hard food should not be eaten and it should be avoided to chew gums. Most dental fractures occur between the sessions.
- Attention should be paid for the temporary filling not to fall down between treatment sessions.
Is Root Canal Treatment a Painful Process?
As anesthesia will be applied during root canal treatment, patient doesn't feel any pain.
Will There Be Pain After Root Canal Rreatment?
After the treatment, there can be slight pain and sensitivity on tooth especially while chewing. There won't be any problems with using a light anti-inflammatory drug after the treatment for a few days.
Is It Required To Extract The Tooth Due To the
Inflammation That Forms on Tooth?
Nowadays, due to the materials and techniques used in root canal treatment, majority of abscess at root edge can be treated and thus, it is not required to extract the tooth.
Is It Required to Use Antibiotics In Dental Infections?
Under normal conditions, it is not required to use antibiotics in root canal treatment. However, if there is advanced infection or extreme sensitivity on tooth, antibiotics could be given.
Is Root Canal Filling and Filling Different Processes?
Root canal filling is the process of cleaning and filling the root canal. Filling process is the restoration of crown part of tooth in the mouth that is visible, with composite filling, inlay, onlay or crown depending on the level of damage.
Are Teeth Undergoing Root Canal Treatment More Fragile?
As tooth losses its liveliness as a result of canal treatment, it gets more fragile. As there is too much loss of material on teeth and as they get more fragile as a result of root canal treatment, after treatment dental veneers should be preferred.
What is Repetition of Root Canal Treatment?
Success rate of root canal treatments which are realized under sterile conditions in a correct way is between %90 - 95. If any uncleaned nerve tissue remains during treatment and in cases where root canal filling and upper filling are not realized sufficiently, as microorganisms enter the canal, and as perforation occurs or fractures are seen, it can be mentioned that root root canal treatment is unsuccessful. An unsuccessful root canal treatment could be noticed by the feeling of pain on teeth while eating, spontaneous pain, swelling or redness on root edge. By renewing the unsuccessful root canal treatment, the therapy is repeated. If this process is insufficient, by applying apicoectomy, root edge is reached surgically and infection is cleaned and it is closed. If repeating the canal treatment and the surgical intervention are insufficient, it can be needed to extract the tooth.
The Author of the Article: Dr. Gülşad Güngör