Root canal therapy.
A root canal treatment takes place when the root canals of the tooth are seriously damaged and become infected; inside the tooth there is a space that contains the pulp, a soft tissue with nerves and blood vessels, this space is called the pulp chamber; the root canals come out from the pulp chamber, and these are narrow canals containing blood and nerves that pass through the roots of the tooth.
Sometimes, because of different reasons, these root canals may become infected, and the nerve may die, so a root canal treatment is needed: with this type of treatment, the dentist, or the endodontist, enters in the canals with a specific device and clean the area removing the infected pulp and debris; when every root canal is cleaned, it is filled with a special material called gutta-percha.
Then, a temporary filling material is placed on top of the gutta-percha to seal the opening, and it remains there until the tooth receives a permanent filling or a crown.
To be completed, the procedure usually requires more than one visit; the oral hygiene after a root canal treatment is the same as before, with brushing, flossing, rinses and periodic visits to the dentist.
Dental root canal treatment.
A root canal treatment is a procedure that can’t be avoided because a tooth with infected roots is going to die and the infection might spread to the surrounding tissues, causing abscesses and other dangerous consequences; the only alternative is to extract the tooth, but usually the dentist prefers to save the tooth.
Root canal. The advantages
With the root canal treatment, the tooth is preserved, because even if the nerve has been removed, the tooth remains functional; it is only covered with a crown, or a cap, to preserve it.
It is not easy to understand if a root infection is going on, only the dentist can detect it; a root or pulp infection may be due to different reasons, such as a deep tooth decay, repeated dental procedures on the same tooth (to replace a large filling, for example), traumatic damage and also gum diseases can lead to root canals infections.
Root canal treatment. Costs.
The cost of a root canal treatment varies depending on how severe the problem is; usually, the range cost is from 500 to 1,000 dollars for an incisor, and from 800 to 1,500 dollars for a molar.
