A brief discussion on root canal treatment or RCT

Root canal is a common procedure in modern dentistry. It is also known by various other names like root canal therapy or endodontic therapy. The treatment involves clearing away an infection from the tooth although the procedure also includes measures to protect the tooth from further infections in future. The pulp of the tooth is called the root canal and that is exactly the place where the treatment is actually carried and that is where the treatment got its name from.

Now let us quickly get a few facts about the root canal therapy in the following section of this post.

The root canal therapy – few fast facts

• The root canal therapy is actually the procedure of removing nerves from inside the tooth pulp.
• Apparently the idea of removing all the living cells, tissues and nerves from inside the pulp of a tooth sounds extremely painful but in reality it is a treatment that helps you get rid of pain.
• The root canal treatment or procedure is also referred to as endodontic therapy.
• The cost of root canal treatment or endodontic therapy varies widely from case to case and practice to practice but on the whole it proves to be a less costly option than extracting a tooth and then filling up the gap with a dental crown or a bridge.

Root canal treatment – about the procedure

The root canal is actually a part of the tooth and not any treatment. The hollow section of a tooth is filled with the nerve tissues, blood vessels and many other living cells and tissues. This hollow section is called the pulp of the tooth. A dentist having years of experience in performing root canal treatment in London explains a tooth can be broadly divided into two parts – the crown and the root.

The crown remains above the gum line while root remains below it. In other words the visible portion of the tooth is the crown while the root portion remains grossly invisible from our sight of vision. It is the root portion which attaches the tooth to the jawbone.

The pulp stays inside the root canal and its basic function is to keep the tooth nourished. It also keeps the surroundings of the tooth moist. The nerves inside the pulp actually sense the pain; actually the nerves sense hot and cold temperatures as pain. Endodontic therapy, which is the other name for root canal treatment, takes place inside the tooth. These days, the name root canal, root canal treatment or RCT is more popularly used than the other name.

The steps involved

The RCT, or endodontic therapy is performed in three steps. The entire treatment may span across one to three appointment sessions with your dentist to complete.

• Step #1 – Cleaning of the root canal

The treatment starts with your dentist clearing away everything from inside the pulp or root canal of the infected tooth. A patient must be put on local anaesthesia before starting the treatment. Your dentist first makes a tiny incision on the surface of the infected tooth. a tiny file is needed to remove the infected, diseased and dead pulp tissues from inside the area.

• Step #2 – Filling of the root canal

In the next step of the procedure, explains a dentist with years of experience in providing emergency root canal therapy, your dentist cleans, shapes up and most importantly decontaminates the hollow area inside the tooth. This requires the usage of tiny files and irrigation solutions. In the next step the cleared up area inside the tooth needs to be filled up. The filling is done using a rubber-like material and then dental cement or adhesive is used to seal up the canal for once and for all.  

Once the root canal therapy is done to a tooth, the tooth becomes as good as dead. There will be no more pain in that particular tooth ever again and that is because the nerve tissues have been cleared away or removed. Along with the clearing away of the nerve tissues the infection that was growing inside the pulp is also removed.

• Step #3 – Placing a filling and a dental crown    

Once the infection is cleared away and the procedure is over, the treated tooth becomes weaker and more fragile than before. How does a tooth which has no pulp (the pulp was infected and was removed in the treatment) get its essential nourishment? It gets its nourishments through the ligaments that keep the tooth attached to the supporting bones. The ligament can easily provide sufficient nourishment to the tooth. But the tooth badly needs reinforcement explains a dentist who performs emergency root canal treatment at the renowned Bayswater Dental Clinic in London over the years. This is why there is the need of a dental filling followed by a crown after a root canal treatment or endodontic therapy.

It is strictly forbidden to bite or chew on a tooth which has undergone a root canal and is yet to get its reinforcement inform of a filling or a crown. Once the filling or the crown is done only then it is okay to chew or bite on that tooth again.

It is possible to complete the procedure of root canal in just a single appointment with your dentist. But in cases like multi canals, an extensive infection or presence of curved canals the procedure may require about a couple of more sessions or appointments with the dentist.

How painful is the procedure?

This is one of the most common questions that dentists have to answer regarding root canal therapy. Really, how painful is it? The perception that exists in the mind of people about the treatment is it is excruciatingly painful. But if you go to a well-trained, well-skilled and experienced dentist you will rather have a painless experience about the treatment. 

The pain that is involved with root canal is rather linked to the infection of the dental pulp itself and not from the treatment or clinical procedure. In easier words it is absolutely correct to say that the root canal treatment or RCT is not painful and does not cause pain; rather it helps relieving you from pain.

A dentist who performs emergency root canal in London explains the area to be treated as well as the surrounding regions in your mouth is numbed by application of local anaesthesia. However once the treatment is complete it is obvious that the treated area will remain somewhat tender. This tenderness is for the time being and dentists usually recommend over the counter medications to overcome this problem. Depending on the condition of a patient a Bayswater Dental Clinic dentist may recommend prescription medicines like codeine. In order to prevent any further infection usually antibiotics are prescribed.

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