The thought of getting a root canal treatment often confuses many individuals. This confusion is primarily due to their limited knowledge of the root canal procedure.
Despite what you might’ve heard or read online, a root canal treatment is an effective oral procedure to remove bacteria or infected tissue. A root canal surgery aims to save a badly infected or decayed tooth and relieve you of severe pain.
Interestingly, that’s not all! There are several aspects involved in the root canal surgery. This blog walks you through the different stages of the treatment procedure and gives you an insight into what to expect during the treatment. Let’s get started.
What Happens During A Root Canal Treatment?
Understanding what happens during the procedure is essential before jumping into the different stages of the root canal process. This section highlights what occurs during the treatment and how expert dentists restore your oral health.
The Confusion Phase
The initial days after your dentist has suggested a root canal treatment often need clarification. Since many applicants have a limited idea of the procedure, they tend to have second thoughts about the treatment.
However, you needn’t worry at this stage. You need to understand that the root canal treatment is to restore your oral health. Thanks to the advances in modern dentistry, there’s hardly any hassle between root canals before and after. Once you consult a professional, it’s only a matter of time till you get healthy teeth.
An Insight Into The Changes
A root canal treatment generally targets the root of your tooth. It is usually reached by reaching inside your tooth. To access a soft tissue called the pulp, dentists must first cut through your dentin, a hard layer beneath the enamel.
This tissue contains connective tissue, blood vessels, and nerves, which support the growth of your tooth as it develops. Since fully mature teeth can survive without the pulp, the dentist cleans and disinfects them. Once done, your Summerville dentists will fill and seal that infected tooth with a rubber-like substance called gutta-percha.
Following this, the tooth is restored with a filling or crown for protection and to continue function like other teeth in your oral setup.
So now that we have an idea of the changes your tooth undergoes during the root canal treatment, let’s check out the process in detail in the following section.
Steps Involved In The Root Canal Treatment
There are mostly three steps involved in the root canal procedure steps, they are:
1. Cleaning the root canal
During the first stage of treatment, your dentist will examine your present oral condition. Once done, they’ll start operating the tooth to remove everything inside the root canal.
Since this stage in the root canal steps is carried out under local anesthesia, the dentist accesses your enamel by making a small access hole in your tooth. Once done, they’ll sterilize and remove the infected and dead pulp tissue.
2. Filling the root canal
Once the cleanup process is complete, the next stage in the root canal Summerville SC, involves filling the root canal. In this stage, your dentist decontaminates the hollow area and fills it with a rubber-like adhesive cement to seal the canal completely.
Once the root canal therapy is complete, your tooth is officially dead, as it has no roots. You will no longer feel pain as the inflammation point (your roots) has been removed.
3. Adding a crown or filling
The stage of root canal treatment involves adding a crown or filling on your tooth. Following the root canal infection and treatment, your tooth becomes more fragile. Since there is no source of nutrition from the ligament that attaches your tooth to the jawbone, a crown is placed on top of it.
This is mostly done to prevent your teeth from any mishaps after the root canal recovery. However, patients must be wary about oral health until the filling or crown placement is complete. They must consult their dentists regularly and follow every oral health rule applicable to a natural tooth.
Do You Need The Root Canal Treatment?
Understanding whether or not you need root canal treatment can be confusing. Therefore, if you encounter any of these changes in your tooth, consult a root canal specialist immediately!
- If you notice severe pain in the tooth: Having severe pain in your tooth could indicate an injured or diseased pulp. Since the pulp cannot repair itself, the tissue dies, resulting in severe pain.
- If you come across a cracked tooth or a cavity: Having a deep cavity, loose filling, or a cracked tooth is another indicator of pulp disease. This is because it leaves a spacing for the bacteria to enter and damage your pulp, ultimately affecting tooth roots.
- Highly sensitive tooth: Having a highly sensitive tooth is an indicator of a pulp injury. When you face severe pain in eating hot or cold food items or experience pain in chewing, or even experience severe pain, it could indicate damaged tooth roots.
Now You Know!
Root canal treatment shouldn’t be overlooked, especially if you’ve encountered early indicators of the problem. Without proper treatment, you might lose your tooth. Besides, while you’re at it, remember; a root canal is a means to eliminate the pain. Don’t fall for myths that say a root canal is painful. All the best!
Note From Clinic
At Cane Bay Family Dentistry, we bring you years of experience in root canal treatment services. Our experts will help you eliminate your severe pain in the most effortless way possible. Wait no more; drop by our clinic or book an appointment at (843) 352-4454. Visit today!