Root Canal Treatment is a second chance for your tooth.
Sometimes teeth don’t behave as we want, and the nerve of the tooth can become compromised and infected.
There are a number of reasons that can cause this including deep decay, large fillings close to the nerve, cracks in teeth, trauma and extensive gum disease. In some cases this can lead to an uncomfortable toothache as the pressure builds up within the nerve space of the tooth. If the infection is left long enough, it can also spread outside of the root space into the adjacent bone and cause it to be painful when subjecting the tooth to pressure.
Root Canal Procedure
As part of the decision making process and planning for the root canal treatment we will usually take a Cone Beam CT (CBCT) scan of the tooth to allow us to look at the tooth in 3 dimensions. This CBCT gives us a much more detailed view of the nerve space which is incredibly useful for planning and ensuring we can get a good outcome. Root canal treatments are then usually done over two appointments. At the first we are aiming to clean out and disinfect the nerve space inside the tooth. We’ll then place an antibacterial dressing in there and a temporary filling to protect it between visits. At the finishing appointment we are removing this dressing, giving the tooth a further disinfection and then sealing up the nerve space and rebuilding the tooth structure over top either with dental filling material or a dental crown. Once the tooth is numbed, this feels similar to having a filling done, but just takes longer (around 45 minutes to 1.5 hours per appointment depending on the tooth and complexity) to ensure we are taking the time we need to thoroughly clean out the nerve space of the tooth.
Should you be concerned or anxious about the process, it is possible to undertake root canal treatments with the aid of IV dental sedation.
Long-term Outcome
When done correctly, root canal treatment can be both a pleasant experience and a long-term solution. The longer infections are allowed to dwell in teeth and spread to the adjacent bone there is an increased likelihood of developing more resistant bacteria that is resistant to root canal therapy. Therefore, we generally advise starting root canals relatively quickly as soon as definitive signs and symptoms develop. In some cases, we may advice the placement of a crown following root canal treatment. This is mainly because root filled teeth often become more brittle over time and typically have a lot of tooth structure missing (as a result of large fillings or extensive decay, etc) – this increases the chance of the tooth fracturing. Crowns can provide these teeth with more support.