Root Canal Treatment
A root canal is a treatment to repair and save a badly damaged or infected tooth. The procedure involves removing the damaged area of the tooth (the pulp), cleaning and disinfecting it and then filling and sealing it. The common causes affecting the pulp are a cracked tooth, a deep cavity, repeated dental treatment to the tooth or trauma. The term "root canal" comes from cleaning of the canals inside the tooth's root.
Common Reasons for Root Canal Therapy • Tooth decay or a large restoration and an abscess. • Trauma • Repeated procedures on a tooth cause cumulative assault (ie. refilling or recrowning a tooth).
Our tooth is made up of 3 layers viz. enamel, dentin and pulp. Of these three layers it is the pulp which provides the nutrients to the tooth.Pulp tissue runs down the root of the tooth like a thread. It is when the infection reaches to the deep seated pulp that your dentists advises you for the root canal. When the pulp is diseased or infected due to decay, the pulp tissue dies. If you do not remove this infected pulp tissue, you could lose your tooth. After the dentist removes the pulp, the root canal is cleansed and sealed off to protect it. Then your dentist places a crown over the tooth to help make it stronger.
Advantages of root canal? • The most important benefit of root canal treatment is that it saves your natural tooth that stays and functions as a normal and healthy tooth. • Extraction can lead to other problems like gliding of adjoining teeth, chewing and biting problems, and the treatment of adjoining teeth which dont need any treatment to restore the missing teeth etc. In case of root canal treatment one can easily avoid all these hurdles and problems.