Root Canal Treatment: Meaning and Process

If your tooth infection has reached its root, you need to go with the root canal process. The meaning of root canal is to restore the severely infected tooth and its surrounding tissues plus pulp with the help of an endodontic procedure. According to the meaning or definition of endodontic procedure, the severely infected pulp is removed from an infected tooth and a replacement filling is filled in the tooth; thus, your concerned tooth is finally restored by a root canal process. All types of root canal processes and endodontic treatments are considered as the most important restorative processes in the restorative dentistry guide.

According to the definition of endodontic treatment, it is a treatment that deals with the tooth pulp or the core layer of the tooth. That’s why an endodontic treatment is usually called a root canal treatment. A root canal treatment (endodontic treatment) deals with the infected pulp i.e. the infected pulp is completely removed or pulled out of the tooth and then the tooth is filled with a replacement. It is a very helpful treatment that may restore a severely infected tooth even in the toughest situations where tooth extraction seems the only possible solution.

Root canal is a last restoration opportunity for your severely infected tooth. It becomes a necessity when your tooth is severely infected and the infection has reached the pulp, root and its canals. If you don’t go with the root canal in appropriate time, your surrounding teeth may also be infected with the infected pulp and eventually all of your teeth would be extracted and you may need to bear the cost and pain of dental bridges and dental implants. That’s why it is always better to go with the slightest of root canal procedure’s pain than to mess up your entire oral health and financial management.

Root canal process becomes necessary when the pulp is fully infected. The common symptoms begin with persistent pain, sensitivity, tooth discoloration and tooth mobility. If some of these symptoms appear, you should have an X-ray of your tooth and if your dental X-ray shows the pulp infection, then you must know that now you must go for an in-depth endodontic procedure (root canal) to restore your teeth.

There are 4 major root canal types that aim to restore the tooth which is gonna be decayed or cracked with an infected pulp. All these 4 types of root canal treatment aim to restore the severely infected tooth.

This type of root canal treatment is the most common root canal type. By default, any root canal treatment is considered as a non-surgical root canal where the infected pulp is removed from inside your tooth and then your void tooth is filled with a replacement material.

This is a type of root canal treatment where the normal non-surgical root canal is unsuccessful and still there is a little infected pulp in the tooth. A very small tip of your tooth is removed after giving you anesthesia and the remaining infected pulp is completely removed and then it is completely sealed.

Pulpotomy is a specific root canal type for children where only a smaller portion of the pulp is affected and that is removed while the remaining healthy pulp is not removed and the tooth is filled with the replacement material. In such cases, dentists may also prescribe some antibiotics for dental infection as well.

It is also a children’s root canal type where all of the infected pulp is removed from the infected tooth because the tooth won’t be saved by just a basic pulpotomy.

There is nothing wrong to have multiple root canals; however, root canal meaning suggests that it involves a thorough endodontic process to clean the infected tooth, canal and the root (with the help of surgical instruments) so usually only 2-3 root canals are enough for a single tooth; otherwise, there may be some other dental infection caused by surgical instruments. Always consult with a root canal dentist near Glen Burnie MD before going for multiple root canals.

Root canal is an endodontic procedure where the infected pulp is removed from the concerned tooth and then it is filled with a replacement and finally it is properly sealed.
Following major steps are involved in this whole root canal treatment (endodontic process):

The very first step in all root canal types is the tooth preparation. Root canal involves some tooth opening, so a numbing agent is applied on the tooth and surrounding area, so the patient won’t feel any root canal pain during the treatment.

Once the tooth is prepared for the root canal treatment, it’s time to clean the tooth till its root. It involves placing a dental dam, accessing the root and infected pulp after opening the tooth with surgical instruments. Lastly, all of the infected pulp is removed from the root of the tooth.

Once the infected pulp is removed, it’s time to shape the canals so they can be filled properly with a replacement. It involves thorough cleaning of the canals and making enough room for replacement material.

Once the canals are properly cleaned and shaped, it’s time to fill them with any of the known tooth replacement material.

Once everything is done in the endodontic process and the root canal is properly filled then the last step is sealing the created hole. The hole which was created to pull out infected pulp and refill replacement is sealed again by applying some heat, so the tooth may not be infiltrated with ease.

This step is an optional one but it is always recommended to have a protective crown after a root canal procedure. It may ensure the longevity of a tooth restoration for the next 10-15 years.

On average, a complete root canal procedure takes between 40-60 minutes depending on each separate case. Some teeth are more infected and may take more time than others. Usually, a root canal process takes more time than crown and veneer placement because they are simpler processes than root canal. You can also check an indepth guide to dental veneer’s process.