How Root Canal Treatment Can Restore the Functionality of Your Mouth

Root canal treatment might be recommended if you have a damaged, decayed, or infected tooth. The procedure is usually recommended when the damage to a tooth leaves its pulp chamber compromised. This is the sealed-off, innermost layer of a tooth that houses its blood vessels and nerves. The pulp chamber of a tooth being opened up significantly increases its risk of infection. It usually leads to some of the worse toothaches you can ever find yourself dealing with.

Root canal treatment is used to prevent and treat tooth infections. The procedure can be completed during a single visit, and it is often a dentist’s last attempt to save a tooth. Extractions are often recommended when a tooth is too damaged to be saved.

How root canal treatment restores the functionality of teeth

Root canal therapy has an unfair reputation as one of the scariest treatments a person can get from a dentist. That might have been true before local anesthetics were invented, but patients typically experience little to no pain nowadays.

The process

Getting a root canal starts with a dental examination. The dentist examines the affected tooth to determine if it can still be saved or if an extraction is needed. Reasons a dentist might recommend extracting a damaged, decayed, or infected tooth include damage that reaches its roots or the infection threatening to spreads to other parts of the body. An infection spreading to the heart or brain can have life-threatening consequences.

Once a patient has been cleared for a root canal, the dentist gives them a stab of a local anesthetic. This prevents the patient from feeling pain while the dentist goes to work.

A dental drill is used to make a hole into the tooth, all the way into its pulp chamber. Dental files are then used to extract the tooth’s blood vessels and nerve. Medication might be inserted into the tooth before it is closed up with gutta-percha. The dentist might then rebuild the tooth with composite resin or cover it with a crown to protect what is left. It takes about an hour to restore a tooth with a root canal.

Recovering after root canal therapy

There is no actual recovery period after getting a root canal. Any pain caused by the damaged tooth should be gone by the time the anesthetic wears off. Over-the-counter painkillers can be used to manage any discomfort experienced afterward. Patients are typically free to return to their daily activities after getting a root canal.

Patients should avoid eating with the newly restored tooth for the first few days after a root canal. They should also avoid extremely hot or cold foods that can end up irritating the restored tooth.