Root canal treatment (RCT)

Root canal treatment (RCT) Info for patients  

Root Canal Treatment, shortly known as RCT is done in those teeth which become dead or partially dead due to necrosis of pulpal tissues.

If you have a severely damaged, decaying tooth or a serious tooth infection (abscess), your dentist may recommend a root canal treatment. Root canals are used to repair and save your tooth instead of removing it.

     What are the factors leading to Root canal Treatment ?                      

The pulp is soft tissue inside your tooth that has nerves, blood vessels and provides nutrients for your tooth. It can become infected if you have :

■A deep cavity

■Repeated dental procedures that disturb this tissue

■A cracked or fractured tooth

■Injury to the tooth (even if there’s not a visible crack or chip)

    Is root canal treatment painful ?          

Root Canal Treatment or Endodontic Therapy is done to get rid of dental pain. It is not painful neither does it hurt you.

It is done under Local Anaesthasia. the mild pain you get during treatment is during removal of infected tissue but nowadays due to advancements in root canal treatment protocols even that pain does not occur.

    What’s Involved in Root canal Treatment (RCT) ?

In this procedure, an access cavity is made, decayed pulpal tissue (blood vessels & nerves) is removed, root canals are cleaned with files and properly sterilised with suitable medicaments like sodium hypochlorite.

Then all the canals are filled with suitable root canal filling materials. Now a days this whole procedure is usually completed in one visit termed as single sitting root canal treatment with rotary endodontics.

To get at the infection, he makes an opening through the top of the tooth down into the pulp chamber. 

With a dental file, your dentist (or endodontist) carefully cleans out the infected tissue and shapes the canals to receive the filling material. X-rays are taken to make sure that all of the infected pulp is removed.

Root canal therapy often takes two or more appointments to complete. A temporary filling or crown is placed to protect the tooth between appointments.

After each appointment when anesthetic has been used, your lips, teeth and tongue may be numb for several hours. Avoid any chewing until the numbness has completely worn off.

Between appointments, it's common (and not a problem) for a small portion of your temporary filling to wear away or break off. If the entire filling falls out, or if a temporary crown comes off, call your dentist so it can be replaced.

It's normal to experience some discomfort for several days after a root canal appointment, especially when chewing. 

To control discomfort, take pain medication as recommended. If antibiotics are prescribed, continue to take them for the indicated length of time, even if all symptoms and signs of infection are gone.

To further reduce pain and swelling, rinse three times a day with warm salt water; dissolve a teaspoon of salt in a cup of warm water, then rinse, swish, and spit.

After filling of the root canals, permanent filling is done either with silver amalgam or light cured composite resins.

Finally tooth is covered with a cap or cover (full jacket crown). This cap is usually made of all porcelain, porcelain fused to gold or porcelain fused to base metal.

    What happens if we dont do root canal therapy ? 

If it is left without any treatment, the tissues around the root of your tooth may become infected. If this happens , you will often feel pain and swelling and an abscess may form inside the tooth and/or in the bone around the end of the root of the tooth. 

An infection can also put you at risk of losing your tooth completely because bacteria can damage the bone that keeps your tooth connected to your jaw.[1]

   What are the tips for care after Root canal treatment ?     

After the treatment, the tooth is likely to last for a long time. However, that is only possible with good tooth care.Listed below are ways of caring for the tooth after treatment

1. Practice good oral hygiene - Floss your teeth every day and brush them twice in a day. This prevents future dental infections.

2.Visiting the dentists regularly - This will grant you access to expert teeth cleaning.

3. Avoid chewing hard foods - Chewing hard and cold foods can lead to a breaking of teeth.

If after root canal treatment has been performed a tooth still has bacteria or irritants leading to inflammation of surrounding tissue, then the treatment has not been successful. 

   What are signs of failed Root Canal Treatment?         

Some of the signs of failed root canal treatment can include tooth pain (ranging from very mild to extreme) and swelling in the gums in the area near the tooth (ranging from very slight to pronounced). These signs can either:

1. Persist from the time of the root canal treatment.

2. Be transient (varying week to week or month to month.

3. Appear even though the tooth has been asymptomatic for years.

In other cases a tooth may continues to be, without symptoms but the tissues surrounding the tooth are identified as having the presence of persistent inflammation by way of a radiological examination by a dentist. 

In these cases, if retreatment is not a possibility, then the tooth should be extracted

 

 

[1] https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/r/root-canals