The root canals are very thin, small divisions that are formed from the top pulp of the tooth down to the tip of the root. Usually, one tooth can have from one to four root canals. The tooth pulp is the tissue that includes blood vessels, connective tissues and nerves. Injury or disease of the pulp can be caused by a tooth decay or tooth that is infected. Tooth injury can also be caused by a deep cavity or a cracked tooth. In this case, there is a special root canal therapy which is used to find the cause of the problem and to treat the dental pulp.
After your dentist removes the tooth pulp, the root canal is sealed off and cleaned. Then, a dental crown is placed over the tooth in order to make it much stronger. Before the root canal therapy, any broken or damaged tooth would have been taken out or extracted. Today, the root canal therapy allows these and other similar dental problems to be solved without making having to extract a tooth.
Why Is The Root Canal Therapy So Important?
This therapy is used to save the tooth from being extracted, if there is a dying nerve in the tooth or some other tooth infection. Today, thanks to the root canal therapy, the infection can be treated and the nerve can be removed easily. A common application for the root canal therapy is abscessed or infected tooth, which may result from periodontal disease, deep cavity or fractured tooth. Sometimes, trauma can also cause damages to the dental pulp. If you are too sensitive to cold or hot, feel pain when touching the tooth or if you tooth gets swollen, you should immediately visit your dentist.
The root canal therapy effectively removes the pulp tissue. After removing all the damaged parts, the canal is sterilized and sealed with other material that prevents bacteria from entering the tooth. Because the root canal therapy removes everything that damages the tooth, after a certain period of time, the tooth will become very brittle. This time varies from one patient to another. For that reason, the tooth should be restored as fast as possible, and the dentist may recommended a crown to be placed as a final restoration. The root canal therapy is not uncomfortable, and in some cases it can be done in only one dental visit.
