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Many people have heard about the root canal treatment (RTC), also referred to as endodontic therapy, but few can tell its ins and outs. Although there are several tales of pain revolving around the therapy, endodontic treatment aims at eliminating pain through the removal of bacteria and damaged pulp tissue from infected teeth. Additionally, millions of teeth have been saved through the procedure, which has proved to be an excellent method of protecting teeth from future infections.
What Necessitates Endodontic Therapy?
A dental therapist will recommend endodontic treatment when the inside of your tooth is infected. The therapy halts further infection; otherwise, tooth extraction will become unavoidable in the future. Inside your tooth is a tissue known as the pulp protected by the dentin and the enamel. Pulp harbors the nerves, connective tissue, and blood vessels whose functions are coordinated to enable tooth growth.
Some of the causes of pulp damage and death are extensive dental decay, fracture, trauma, and repeated dental procedures. The following are the prevalent symptoms of an infected pulp;
- Tooth pain
- Swollen or darkened gums
- Sensitivity to cold or hot drinks
- Jaw pain
- Pimples on the gums
Endodontic treatment is done to save you from the pain and protect your teeth from future damage.
What Happens During RTC?
When you visit a dental care center for RTC, the dentist or endodontist will first carry out an X-ray examination to establish if there are infections in the surrounding bone as well as see the extent of the pulp infection among other essential things. Although the pulp tissue is dead, the therapist administers local anesthesia to make you comfortable and relieved.
Using a dental drill, the specialist creates a hole on the tooth’s crown to access the pulp. Small files are used to remove bacteria and the damaged pulp as well as to shape the inner chamber of your tooth. The endodontist flushes out the debris from the pulp chamber using gushes of water. Besides, he or she may apply an antimicrobial solution to kill any remaining bacteria as well as prevent future infections. The therapist fills the clean and dried chamber with a rubber-like material known as gutta percha and subsequently seals the tooth opening with a temporary filling.
During the second visit, the dental care specialist places a crown or a similar restoration to cover the tooth permanently. Note that there may be a need for stabilizing the crown using a small post placed inside the chamber. Nevertheless, this will depend on the condition of your tooth.
Post-procedure
When local anesthesia wears off, the gum surrounding the treated tooth may feel tender due to the rubber dam (rubber sheet) clamp. Moreover, you may feel sore when chewing on the tooth due to inflammation or irritation of exterior nerves affected by an abscess or the treatment. It’s advisable to chew on the opposite side of the mouth for about four days to allow for the calming down of the affected tissues and bone. You can manage tooth discomfort and sensitivity emanating from endodontic treatment using over-the-counter medications such as naproxen and ibuprofen.
Nonetheless, ibuprofen is not recommended for people suffering from stomach ulcers or kidney disease and those taking blood thinners. The good thing about the recovery time is that you can resume your normal activities in a day. A subsequent visit to your dentist is necessary for the evaluation of the progress.
Effectiveness
Endodontic therapy is famed for its fruitfulness and boasts a success rate of about 95{bf81a2a4e8db026234fcbe49f398fb3cd341e4e3662c51aafd5e7b6fdd09bb29}. This is besides the fact that the treated teeth can last for a lifetime. Nonetheless, this will heavily depend on your oral hygiene. So, brush and floss your teeth daily and observe other oral hygiene practices. It’s advisable to visit your dentist at least twice in a year for dental examinations and cleaning.
Is there a possibility of failure?
Although the therapy is highly successful, there are isolated cases of failure which can be as a result of;
- Poor oral hygiene
- Restoration leakage
- Vertical cracks on the treated tooth
- Dental specialist’s error
- An extra canal not seen during treatment
- An obstruction that prevented thorough cleaning of the pulp chamber
Cost
The cost of RTC depends on the type of teeth treated, the extent of the infection, and the specialist who undertakes the procedure. Molars have more canals to be filled and are, therefore, more expensive than the other teeth types.
Additionally, endodontists charge more due to the specialty aspect. Most dental insurance plans cover endodontic therapy. On average, the procedure’s cost ranges between $400 and $1500 for a single-root tooth (canine or incisor) and $500 and $1700 for a molar or premolar.
Conclusion
Endodontic treatment saves dental patients from costly procedures through the mere removal of damaged pulp. The highly-effective procedure is done by a dental specialist and takes about 90 minutes to complete. The cost differs depending on the specialist and the tooth. Lastly, optimum dental hygiene is necessary to maintain the effectiveness of the procedure.