What is a Root Canal Treatment?
Every tooth is composed of the outer layer of the crown, called enamel, the middle layer, called dentin, and the inside layer, called the pulp. This innermost pulp layer contains the nerves and blood vessels that nourish the tooth. Usually, decay of the tooth structure starts at the level of enamel, and as it progresses closer to the nerve of the tooth, the chance of the patient having pain increases. At this point, patients start feeling some sensitivity to cold, heat, and sometimes sweets, which does not last for too long and goes away in a few minutes or less than an hour. When the cavity (decay) gets exposed to the nerve of the tooth, most of the time, it creates excruciating pain, which is referred to as root canal pain. At this point in time, root canal treatment is needed.
In general, a root canal is a procedure that involves the removal of decay from the tooth, removal of bacteria and dead cells from the tooth, opening the nerve from the top, cleaning inside of the roots completely and very accurately to the tip of the roots, and also filling the empty space that was occupied by the nerve and vessels with a biocompatible material so no more bacteria can get into the roots and tooth from above or underneath.
Sometimes the nerve inside the tooth dies due to trauma from excessive bite forces, physical trauma, a chemical burn from excessive bleaching or another chemical, or due to age. The body’s response in order to dissolve the dead nerve cells is for white blood cells to attack the dead cells inside the root and create an inflammation, which can eventually cause an infection or turn into a cyst on the tip of the roots.
This so-called cyst can affect the surrounding tissue, including the other teeth, the sinuses, the bone, and the nerves inside your jaw and in the gum tissue. Sometimes, the pus from the infection gets drained into the mouth cavity and causes a bad taste or even could turn into an abscess and eventually find its way into the bloodstream and cause serious infections in other organs of your body. A root canal must be performed to remove the infection.
Since most of the tooth had been lost due to a large amount of decay, the tooth structure becomes more brittle and is more prone to breaking. That is why most of the time, after a root canal is performed, the tooth needs to be restored with a full-coverage crown to ensure that the remaining tooth structure is protected.
