Rooth Canal is the most common treatment of the tooth, which is done to retain the tooth in the oral cavity. People often have different confusions regarding root canals. Here, we will be discussing the Root Canal before and After protocols, what happens, and what you should expect.
What is Root Canal treatment:
Root canal treatment is the treatment of non-vital and defective teeth simply by treating their root canals. Every tooth has a single or multiple canal, which contains dental pulp. Dental Pulp consists of blood and nerve vessels, it’s the only reason you have sensation in your tooth.
When the infection is spread to the dental pulp, pain arises in the tooth, which is sharp, piercing, and unbearable by most people. In this case, the pulp is removed from the tooth by root canal treatment. After the pulp is removed, the tooth becomes free of all types of sensations including pain.
When Rooth Canal treatment is needed?
There are certain conditions when you may need a root canal treatment on your teeth. Here are the following conditions:
Pain:
You will feel severe pain in your tooth, the pain will be sharp, continuous, lacerating, piercing. The pain may arise from the tooth and referred to other parts of your face. Night pain is often common when you have irreversible pulpitis.
Sensation to temparature:
You will feel sensations while taking hot and cold food if you have an infection on your pulp. Sometimes, it will cause pain.
Fracture of tooth:
If you face a fracture of the tooth because of trauma or sports, you will need a root canal treatment. This prevents contamination of food particles of bacteria into the pulp chamber and removes pain.
Tooth Discoloration:
If you find out that your teeth are getting discolored day by day, it may reveal that you have a problem with your pulp. In this case, you will need a root canal treatment, followed by tooth bleaching to retain the original tooth color.
Swelling on gingiva:
If you find unusual swelling in your gingiva accumulating pus, it means that you may have a dental abscess. to treat the abscess, you will need to perform root canal treatment on the adjacent teeth.
Pathological conditions like cysts:
A patient who has developed a cyst has to undergo the treatment to retain their teeth. Cyst often arises when you leave your infected teeth untreated.
What to expect before the treatment:
At first, you need to consult a dentist. He will perform all needed intraoral, clinical, and radiological examinations to determine the treatment protocol.
You won’t need root canal treatment in case of reversible pulpitis. It can be treated simply by removing the stimuli causing the pulp stimulation.
If you have a cavity in your tooth, which doesn’t affect the pulp, you won’t need the treatment. This type of decay can simply be treated by removing the carious portion and replacing the missing potions with a dental filling.
The dentist will confirm if the treatment is needed after performing an intraoral x-ray. So, you will need to go through a x-ray, and some intraoral examination before the treatment. In the presence of an abscess, the dentist will suggest you an antibiotic.
If a cyst is present, the cyst will have to be removed before performing an RCT. In the case of a fractured tooth, the fractured parts may need to be removed or added to the tooth through splinting.
Root Canal treatment procedure:
The root canal treatment is a painless procedure, as it is performed under local anesthesia. The treatment can be completed in a single visit or in multiple visits, depending on the condition of the tooth and the patient’s requirements.
Single Visit Root Canal Procedure:
The main objective of the procedure is to complete the treatment in one visit. this takes more time, but the hassle of different visits is reduced. if your tooth is free from any severe infection or pathologies, the root canal treatment can be performed in a single visit. Here is the procedure:
- Administration of local anesthesia. Local anesthesia is not needed in the case of nonvital teeth.
- Isolation of the tooth.
- Preparation of the tooth
- Access cavity preparation
- Removal of the infected pulp tissues, and debris from the root canal
- Measurement of the working length
- Preparation of the canal.
- Application of medicamants.
- Cleaning and irrigation of the canal.
- Application of root canal sealers and fillers
- Sealing the canal
- Application of temporary filling.
Multi-visit root canal procedure:
In this case, the patient has to visit the dentist multiple times. In the case of posterior teeth having extra canals, excessive infections, and pathologies, this protocol is followed. Here, root canal medicaments like Calcium Hydroxide or EDTA are used to induce healing into the adjacent soft tissue.
The rocedure is same as folloed. but the canal preparation is done for a longer time in this procedure.
Things done after the procedure:
The dentist finishes the procedure by putting a temporary restoration to the tooth. After the treatment has been done, you will be advised to notice any pains or unusual in the tooth.
If you don’t go through any complications, the dentist will replace the temporary restoration with a permanent one. Permanent filling materials or crowns are used in this case.
GIC is the best permanent filling material that dentists suggest as it releases fluoride into the oral cavity. Composite can also be preferred. Amulgum restorations can be done on posterior teeth, but it is not aesthettic.
Zirconia crown can be used as a permanent restoration. They are aesthetic and highly durable. porcelain or metal crowns are also available options.
Read Also: Front Tooth Crown: Your Complete Guideline
Root Canal Before and After Visual Representations
Root canal Front tooth:
Root Canal Back Tooth (Premolar):
Root Canal Back Tooth(Molar):
Root Canal Treatment Complications:
After the treatment, the patients don’t face complications in most cases. But, sometimes, some problems may arise if the treatment fails. Here are some of those:
Pain:
The most common complication of the treatment is pain. It may occur during or after the treatment. If the local anesthesia is not given on the proper dose, or the action of the local anesthesia ends during the procedure, the patient feels severe pain.
Pain after the treatment occurs if there is any remaining pulp tissue in the canal.
Recurrent infection:
in some cases, if the procedure fails, there will be the presence of recurrent infection. If it is left untreated, it may affect the surrounding structures.
Instrument breakage:
Instrument breakage is the most common type of complication that occurs during the treatment. This arises due to faulty instrumentation of the dentist. The broken instrument must be removed before sealing the canal.
Perforation:
Canal Perforation occurs due to instrumentation. If the canals are perforated, you may experience bleeding from underlying or adjacent soft tissue to the tooth.
Nerve damage:
Nerve damage can occur due to poor technique of the dentist. Poor technique of local anesthesia can cause irreversible nerve damage sometimes.
Who can’t go through the procedure?
The root canal treatment is not advisable to everyone. here are some cases where the treatment is contraindicated:
- People suffering from diabetes mellitus or other immune disorders.
- If the tooth is unrestorable due to over-extension of the caries.
- Severe crown root fracture.
- Patients within six months of facing any cardiac attacks.
- Patients who are hypersensitive to the root canal medicaments.
- In case of severe periodontitis.
What will happen if you don’t have the treatment:
You will lose your tooth ultimately if you don’t do the root canal. The main purpose of the treatment is to retain the tooth in the oral cavity.
If the irreversible pulpitis is left untreated, you will develop a cyst or periodontal abscess. the periodontal abscess may affect the bone and give rise to osteomyelitis, acute or chronic.
Final Words on Root Canal Before and After:
Root Canal Treatment is a simple procedure. In most of the cases, the patient is recovered after 5-7 days of the treatment. So, there is nothing to be afraid of. If you need the treatment, consult your dentist and go through the procedure.