When is Root Canal Treatment Needed?

When a tooth is badly injured, or when you struggle with an extremely deep tooth decay, you might need to undergo a root canal treatment, because the pulp of the tooth is much damaged.

Imagine the pulp of the tooth as a collection of tissues which can be found right at the center of a tooth.

If the exterior of a tooth is being broken or chipped for example, different microorganisms and bacteria will find an entrance gate through there.

Thus, the pulp of the tooth can easily get infected, and this can easily bring about the tooth abscess (when pus is enclosed within the tissues of the jaw).

The tooth abscess can be extremely painful, a “pulsating” feeling from within. Some other symptoms of a tooth abscess include a bitter taste in the mouth, bad breath condition, and swollen lymph nodes that can also be extremely painful.

Patients struggling with tooth abscess can barely drink or eat because of the sharp, intermittent feelings of pain.

Quite a few decades ago, people who were struggling with bad teeth were prescribed a few antibiotics, and they were also told to rinse their mouth frequently with a mixture of water and salt. In those days, dental extraction was the only way to fix such a problem, and doctors could not actually save the tooth.

However, since technology, science and medicine have made huge leaps forward, today they can save even a very badly damaged tooth through a root canal treatment.

For such a treatment, the dentist will start by making an opening in the posterior of the badly damaged tooth. Next, the affected pulp is going to be removed, and the area will be thoroughly cleansed and disinfected.

In case more visits to the dentist are needed, the doctor will place a temporary filling. In the last stages of the root canal treatment the area will be filled permanently using tapered rubber material. Then, the tooth is going to be covered with a dental crown, and thus the damaged tooth is saved from extraction.