What is a Root Canal?

Before we explain the root canal savage procedure we will identify the anatomy of a tooth. Then we will list some of the causes that might require a tooth to have a root canal and finally the procedure itself. Years ago, if a tooth was damaged the tooth would be extracted. Now dentists do everything in their power to save your natural tooth. In fact, there are now over 15 million root canal procedures done a year in the United States.

The Anatomy of a Tooth

The tooth is a living part of your body. The part of the tooth visible to you is called the crown and under the gum line is the root. The hard-outside layer of your tooth is called the enamel. Under the enamel is a layer called the dentin. At the center of the tooth is the soft, living tissue called pulp. The chamber holding the pulp has blood vessels and nerves running through it. This pulp reaches down the root of the tooth in canals. This is how nutrition is delivered to the tooth. Nerves and blood vessels run down that canal providing both a blood supply and sensitivity sensations.

The Reasons for having a Root Canal Procedure

If you crack a tooth you will run the risk of damaging that pulp. A deep cavity can also reach that pulp and then deliver bacteria to the pulp chamber creating an infection. A broken tooth can yield harmful results as well. Once the pulp is infected, or even dead, if left untreated pus will be delivered down the root canal to the tip of the root and form a very painful abscess.

The Root Canal Procedure

Once an x-ray confirms the damaged tooth and its root, the dentist will first start by numbing the tooth with a local anesthetic. Then the tooth needs to be opened to expose the pulp chamber. A small hole will be drilled in the crown, at the back of a front tooth or the top of molar. Then the dentist will use very small tools to remove the pulp from the chamber and the canal. Your tooth can have either one root or up to three roots if it is a molar. The removal of the pulp is called a pulpectomy. Once the damaged pulp is gone the chamber and the canal will be cleaned, enlarged and prepared for a substitute filling. A rubbery material called gutta-percha is inserted into the chamber and the canal and then the tooth is sealed with cement. On an occasion the dentist may include a metal or plastic rod down the canal to give the tooth structural support. It is often recommended that the saved tooth now receives a crown to help protect it.

The treated and restored tooth can last a lifetime with proper oral hygiene on your behalf. The tooth, no longer alive, can become brittle and susceptible to fracturing. The root can also show bone loss. Regular dental examinations twice a year will monitor your restored tooth.

More About Root Canals : The Root Canal Procedure