Endodontics
What is Endodontics (Root Canal Treatment) ?
Root canal treatment is a means of saving a tooth that has been damaged by infection or deep decay. The purpose of treatment is to restore the tooth to good health so that it can function properly inside your mouth.
Why should a tooth need to be root treated?
Deep inside every tooth is a pulp chamber and root canals that contain a living tissue called the pulp. The pulp is often mistakenly called “the nerve” but in fact it contains a fine network of blood vessels. If a large cavity in a tooth reaches the pulp, or if a tooth breaks, bacteria can reach the pulp and infect it. The root canals then become infected and inevitably an abscess forms in the bone around the roots. Pain (sometimes severe) may occur at any time during this process and the infection can spread.
How is root canal treatment done?
The purpose of the treatment is to remove the bacteria from inside the tooth and disinfect the root canals. This is done by making a hole through the tooth into the pulp chamber, locating and measuring the root canal lengths, then cleaning and widening them with very fine files.