What is root canal treatment?
Root canal treatment is a tooth-preserving therapy when the inside of the tooth (pulp) is either irreversibly inflamed or dead (avital, devital). The tooth is hollowed out and filled with sterile material. This stabilizes it and prevents further bacteria from entering. Since the tooth is now no longer supplied with blood, it becomes avital and brittle, so that an additional crown is often necessary.
When do you do a root canal treatment?
Pain and inflammation of a tooth due to decay is the most common reason for root canal treatment. The germs can spread to the pulp, where the nerves and blood vessels run. If the blood vessels expand as a result of the inflammation, they press on the tooth nerve. The tooth hurts violently and is often very sensitive to cold or hot foods and drinks. If the bacteria penetrate to the tip of the root – the part of the tooth furthest inside – they can spread from here to the bones and soft tissues of the face. In the worst case, the bacteria travel through the blood to the entire body. In such cases or in order to prevent this, root canal treatment is performed if possible. The alternative to root canal treatment is surgical tooth preservation (apicoectomy) or extraction of the tooth.
Another area of application is dead teeth. In many cases, they can be preserved with the help of root canal treatment.
What is done during a root canal treatment?
Before the actual root canal treatment, the dentist asks about your complaints and any previous illnesses. He will examine your teeth and then inform you about the risks and the procedure of the root canal treatment:
First, the affected tooth is anesthetized, because root canal treatment is often painful. However, this is not the case with a dead tooth: here, root canal treatment can be performed without anesthesia. In most cases, the tooth is then wrapped in a kind of rubber bandage – a so-called rubber dam – to protect it from blood and saliva.
The doctor now carefully drills out the tooth and inserts special measuring needles into the root canals. In combination with an X-ray, he can thus determine the length of the canals. Using small flexible files of various sizes, the doctor then removes the inflamed or dead pulp. He then thoroughly rinses the entire root canal system and uses a special laser to further intensify the disinfection.
Only when the tooth is germ-free does the doctor fill the cleaned and reamed canal system with a root canal filling. A crown additionally stabilizes and seals the tooth.
Many patients want to know: How long does a root canal treatment take? Dentists cannot give a definite answer to this question: The duration of a root canal treatment depends on the patient, the course of the procedure and any complications. The type of tooth involved also plays a role: The treatment of a molar tooth usually takes more time than the root treatment of an incisor due to the limited visibility and reduced space. If there is a pronounced infection, it must be treated in several sessions. Special medicinal inserts are also used to kill the bacteria between the procedures.
What are the risks of root canal treatment?
Pain and swelling are common side effects of root canal treatment. In addition, there are other general and specific risks. These include:
- Infections
- Bleeding @
- Injury to muscles, bones and nerves
- Damage to surrounding teeth
- Loss of the operated tooth
- Opening of the maxillary sinus
Due to various metabolic products or iron deposits from the blood, the tooth can become dark in color. The discoloration has no disease value, but can be quite cosmetically disturbing. The dentist can then whiten the tooth.
What do I have to keep in mind after a root canal treatment?
As long as the anesthetic is still taking effect, you should not eat anything or participate in traffic. In addition, you should not smoke or drink coffee or black tea for the first 24 hours after the root canal treatment.
Seven to ten days after the root canal treatment, the stitches can be removed. After three to six months, X-rays should be taken to check the healing of the bone.
Pain after root canal treatment
What is quite common after root canal treatment is pain. Cooling relieves the pain and prevents swelling and bruising. You can find out where the pain comes from and what else you can do about it in the article Pain after root canal treatment.
However, if you experience increasing throbbing pain a few days after the procedure, it may be an inflammation that makes a repeat (revision) of the root canal treatment necessary. In this case, see your doctor as soon as possible.
