While patients were likely to lose their teeth if they got pulpitis years ago, development of modern endodontics dentistry offers greater possibility to save inflamed teeth than ever.

Endodontics (root canal) is the specialty of dentistry concerning damaged dental pulp tissues surrounding the roots of a tooth in order to preserve natural teeth. Endodontic treatment is intricate and requiring, which involves endodontists’ enhanced skills and wealth of experience.

Root canal treatment procedure

Before root canal treatment, panoramic dental x–rays are taken for the endodontist to diagnose and analyze the state of inflammation. Then the detailed treatment plan is customized.

It requires at least 2 – 3 visits to complete treatment. Only endodontists are qualified to process the root canal treatment. The number of root canals generally correlates with treatment complexity.

Step 1: Anaesthetic

Anesthetic is injected to numb the area, which helps patients not experience any more pain during the treatment.

The dentist isolates the tooth with rubber dam (latex). A rubber sheet is stretched over your tooth to keep the treatment area clean and dry

Step 2: Root canal

• The endodontist accesses to the nerve by utilizing burs and drills to make a hole that extends through the surface of your tooth to its pulp chamber.
• Eliminate the pulp (nerve) from inside the tooth. After that, the dentist locates the canals, then he removes individual nerve from each of the canals.
• Cleaning is an essential step to remove as much bacteria as possible from the root system, any remnants of nerve tissue and dentine that has been infected. The endodontist places medicine into the canal to help kill off any remaining nerve and bacteria
• Once the interior of the tooth has been thoroughly cleansed and properly shaped, the endodontist slips an initial cone of gutta percha into the tooth’s canal with specialized instruments. Additional cones are then added, as needed, to completely fill in the canal’s interior. Then the tooth is ready to be sealed against future infection.
• Temporary filling is placed to seal off the access hole created at the start of root canal procedure. It helps keep contaminate factors out during the time period between your appointments you get your permanent restoration.

Step 3: Permanent restoration

In the next appointment, the temporary filling is removed and then replaced with permanent restoration (regular filling or dental crown). If a large part (or all) of a tooth’s original crown structure has been lost, a post and core may be indicated to make anchor for restoration. Teeth after root canal treatments are recovered to full function and appearance and likely to last a lifetime due to the support of fixed dental crowns.

Root canal post-operative care

After root canal treatment, patients are given particular root canal post-operative care instructions to follow by the endodontists. Commitment to follow all these instructions helps fasten the recovery time and keep your restored teeth long lasting

• Follow up your pain and discomfort. It is normal to undergo discomfort for several days after a root canal procedure, but if you experience increasing excruciating pain, contact your endodontist as soon as possible
• Avoid biting and chewing food on recently treated tooth
• Soft food cut in bite-size is highly recommended to avoid excessive pressure on treated tooth
• Use medicines as prescribed by your endodontist.
• Care properly for treated tooth with gentle brushing, flossing.
• Regular checkups are required to make sure that your treated tooth is in healthy state.