Endodontic Treatment
Knowing Endodontics:
Endodontics is a domain categorized under dental science which concentrates on treating dental conditions that affect tooth interiors, more precisely tooth pulp. Tooth pulp or otherwise termed as 'tooth nerve' contains connective tissues and arteries that nurtures and supports the tooth. Endodontic treatment is performed when this pulp inside the tooth gets infected by bacteria and inflames, thereby causing pain. The treatment is also referred to as root canal treatment, where an endodontist carefully removes the infected pulp and refills the canal with suitable filling materials. Though a complicated dental treatment procedure, root canal treatment is one of the commonly performed and hence has huge success rates.
What Causes Pulp Inflammation:
When considered closely, root canal treatment serves to restore an infected tooth root back to its original form and health, thus making it possible for the tooth root to support and nourish the replacement that proceeds. Mainly performed to arrest the degenerative changes that the tooth root has undergone, root canal prevents ant form of tooth extraction, by removing the infected and inflamed pulp from the pulp chamber.
Dentist calls for an endodontic treatment when the root canal cannot be fixed or repaired by any other non-surgical procedures, as the decay has grown to be so intense that it has to be removed before the disease spreads to adjacent tooth and tissues. Pulp infection occurs when bacteria from an untreated cavity spreads and penetrates to tooth interiors and opens to tooth canal system thus causing the pulp to inflame.
Normally such an infection that affects tooth interiors will not respond to the usual antibiotic treatment. The infection caused to the pulp will affect the blood supply to the tooth that makes the antibiotics in the blood stream incapable to do their job. This in turn will restrict the pulp's capacity to heal all by itself.
Other Causes of Pulp Damage:
Trauma and fracture caused due to certain other reasons can also cause the tooth pulp to damage. Extensive restorative works, overdone dental fillings etc can also add on to pulp inflammation. However, these are normal cases of pulp inflammation it will heal by itself and return to normal condition. Thus on getting symptoms one needs to consult a dentist to know if there is a requirement for root canal treatment to be done.
Indications Of The Need For Root Canal Therapy:
The following are certain symptoms one may rely on to consult an endodontist to undergo root canal treatment:
- Sudden inflict of excruciating pain or throbbing sensation of the tooth and adjoining tissues
- Difficulty in opening mouth and incapacity while biting or chewing food
- Sensitivity to heat and cold food or drink
- Abscess in the adjoining bone of the teeth
Root Canal Treatment Procedure:
The procedure involved in root canal treatment takes in a series of steps to prevent tooth extraction and to ensure complete success. Briefly describes the endodontic procedure takes in 5 surgical steps, including:
Once the situation is analyzed the rest of the treatment is performed on the patient under anaesthesia.
- Tooth crown is drilled to make an opening to reach tooth pulp
- This follows determining the length of root canal
- Infected pulp is then removed and the root canal is then cleaned and brought back to original shape
- Cleaned canals are then filled using suitable filling material and is sealed
- A temporary filling is used to fill the tooth. To ensure further protection an gold or porcelain crowns are added
Ensuring Post Treatment Care:
Once the treatment procedures are over, sore tooth might prevail for a couple of days. It is said that worse the root canal situation was before the treatment; the more will be the severity of sore tooth one would need to deal with. However, over-the-counter pain relievers might prove helpful in relieving the irritation and pain associated with sore tooth. However following certain procedures will ensure post treatment care:
- Let the tooth relieve from the effects of anaesthesia before you attempt to eat or drink something
- Make sure the treated tooth is well restored by your dentist before getting back to normal functioning
- Post treatment care does not stop you from the routine dental care of brushing and flossing
- If the temporary filling material used in the teeth shows ant sign of eruption then do not make delay in consulting your edodontist
- Evident swelling within and outside the mouth, medicinal allergy like rashes, itching etc must be communicated to your endodontist
