Root Canal Treatment
The process of removing the living tissue called pulp in the tooth is called root canal treatment. In root canal treatment, it is the process of removing the pulp tissue that has been damaged or lost its vitality, shaping the root canals, and then filling them again with various biocompatible materials. Thus, the root canal is purified from microorganisms and closed in a way that prevents their entry.
Symptoms and pain patterns that indicate the need for root canal treatment are as follows:
- Severe, long-lasting, throbbing pains that begin for no reason.
- Pain caused by the contact of the teeth with each other or a material contact with the tooth.
- Pain that starts when the tooth encounters a hot factor (tea, coffee, etc.)
- Night pains that wake you up from sleep.
HOW MAKE IS ROOT TREATMENT?
- First of all, entranceways are opened on the tooth suitable for the anatomical structure of each tooth, through which we can reach the canals of the teeth.
- With the prepared access cavities, if there is caries, the caries are cleaned and the damaged or lost pulp tissue is removed. As a result, the root canals are reached and cleaned with various tools and shaped according to the anatomy.
- Afterwards, the shaped canal and pulp cavity are permanently filled with biocompatible materials. The biocompatible material used in the canal is a material called gute percha, which has a shape suitable for the shape of the canal we have shaped. This material (gute percha) is placed in all the canals we have shaped with canal-filling pastes, which are also biocompatible. In some cases, especially in teeth with excess material loss due to caries, structural support.
In order to determine whether the root canal treatment is successful in teeth with infection at the root tip that causes destruction in the bone, the films taken before the treatment and the films taken at regular intervals after the treatment are compared and it is checked whether the infection, bone loss progresses or regresses and heals.
Teeth undergoing root canal treatment can remain in the mouth for a lifetime if the patient performs proper oral care, but due to the fact that the teeth undergoing root canal treatment have lost their vitality, their strength resistance has decreased and they have become brittle compared to a live tooth. For this reason, a crown should be applied to root canal-treated teeth after healing follow-up. At the same time, if the patients do not pay enough attention to their oral care, regular dental examinations should be carried out, since caries may occur again in the treated tooth and in order to prevent other problems in the future.
If the condition of the tooth is suitable, root canal treatment can be completed in a single session with the decision of the physician. Current literature, together with the developing technology in endodontics (such as rotary file systems, various washing techniques, laser technology) supports root canal treatment in one session. However, in some inflammatory conditions due to the disease of the tooth, it may not be appropriate to finish the root canal treatment in a single session. Intracanal drug use may be required to ensure canal disinfection. In such cases, two or longer sessions may be needed. However, if the condition of the tooth is suitable in routine, root canal treatment can be completed in a single session.
After the root canal treatment is finished, there may be sensitivity in the tooth in the first week and ten days. This sensitivity depends on the fact that the surrounding tissue around the root is also affected by the procedure while performing the root canal treatment. If necessary, this sensitivity will gradually decrease with the use of analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs recommended by your doctor.