Root Canal Treatment

The dental pulp is the innermost part of the tooth. It is housed inside the hard chamber of the tooth which is composed of enamel and dentine.
The dental pulp has a rich supply of blood vessels and nerves. The pulp is found all through the tooth and the space where the pulp sits in the root is called the root canal.
“Root canal” refers to the natural cavity within the centre of the tooth.

The nerves of a tooth lie within what are called root canals, which run from the tip of a tooth’s root all the way into the pulp chamber, located near the top of the tooth.
If the nerve becomes infected, or the pulp becomes inflamed, a root canal might be necessary. In a root canal treatment, the nerves and pulp are removed,
and the inside of the tooth is cleaned and sealed. A root canal treatment replaces damaged or infected pulp in the tooth’s root canal, with a filling.

Common symptoms that indicate you need a root canal:

• Toothache while chewing, or serious toothache while putting pressure on the tooth.
• Tenderness or swelling of the gum area surrounding the affected tooth.
• Abscess or lesion formed on the gum area surrounding the tooth, similar to a small pimple or blister
• Extreme sensitivity or pain in your tooth when exposed to either hot or cold food/drink that lasts beyond the removal of the hot or cold food/drink
• Darkening or discoloration of the tooth

Procedure of root canal treatment:

If a dentist suspects you may need a root canal, he will first take X-rays or examine existing X-rays to show where the decay is located. Local anaesthesia is
administered to the affected tooth. Contrary to popular belief, a root canal is no more painful than a filling.
An opening is made and the diseased tooth pulp is removed. The roots that have been opened (to get rid of the disease pulp)
are filled with gutta-percha material and sealed off with cement.