When you feel discomfort and experience extreme pain in your tooth, you might be wondering whether you are required to have a root canal treatment performed on it. If your tooth is swollen, sore, infected, painful and sensitive to temperature changes your dentist may offer root canal treatment. This process is also referred to as endodontic therapy in certain circles. You will get an understanding of the four stages of root canal treatment as you read this article. This will enable you to be well-prepared for your root canal treatment when the time comes.
Stages of Root Canal Treatment
The root canal treatment will consist of the following four stages:
Stage 1: Diagnosing Pulp Infection
Pulp is the soft tissue that fills the center of your teeth. When a tooth’s pulp becomes infected, it typically needs root canal treatment. When people have pain in their teeth, they normally go to their family dentist. After the general dentist has eliminated the possibility of other problems, the patient will be sent to a specialist for more testing.
Specialists are consulted when a general dentist determines that the source of the patient’s pain is inside the tooth since this requires more advanced diagnostic tools. An endodontist will utilize digital X-rays and digital imaging to determine whether or not the tooth needs to have root canal therapy performed on it.
Stage 2: Eliminating the Infected Pulp
The infected pulp is removed from the tooth by drilling a tiny hole in the crown of the tooth. The endodontist will use surgical instruments to clean out the root canals, at which point any infection will be removed. The endodontist will then perhaps administer medication to guarantee that no infection will remain to create further issues. The canals have been thoroughly cleansed, and they do not present any signs of infection.
Stage 3: Root Canal Filling
The endodontist will place fresh root filler within the space in the tooth that was before occupied by the diseased pulp. The region is then sealed with glue to prevent saliva and germs from contaminating the new root filler. When this happens, the dentist moves on to step two of the root canal treatment, which is to enlarge the root canal so that the infection may be removed. Having the tooth repaired with a rod or other means of strengthening is necessary in this circumstance. The apex of the tooth is temporarily filled to prevent infection.
Stage 4: Restoration of the Toot
The temporary filling has to be removed after some weeks; therefore, the patient needs to schedule a visit with a restorative dentist. The infected tooth will be restored to its pre-infection strength by having a crown placed over it by a restorative dentist.
Conclusion
Root canal treatment is performed to remove infected pulp from a tooth and prevent the infection from returning. Instead of extracting a tooth (a more involved and expensive process) to repair the issue and ease the discomfort, your dentist may perform a root canal treatment to preserve the tooth and prevent further infection and damage.