All teeth have a central part known as the 'pulp'. This is the 'living' part of the tooth, which contains the nerves and blood vessels that keep the tooth alive.
Root canal treatment involves the removal of this pulp tissue from the tooth and can be required due to:
Tooth infection - An untreated cavity or a very deep filling can cause bacteria to infect the pulp. This infection may spread to the bone surrounding the tooth and cause an abscess or if left untreated, can spread to other parts of the body and cause very serious medical complications.
Tooth trauma - This can damage the pulp, which may not be able to heal.
The aim of root canal treatment is to remove the infected or damaged pulp in order to save the tooth.
A root canal procedure involves removing all infection and pulp tissue from the tooth's canals using special thin instruments, cleansing and shaping these canals, then filling them with materials made specifically for preventing pain and infection from recurring.
Root canal treatments can take one or several visits to complete and depend on the severity of the problem or infection. After the procedure, the majority of teeth which have had a root canal treatment will require a crown or protective restoration in order to prevent fracture of the tooth or re-infection from occurring.
It is important to consider saving teeth rather than extraction due to the many other dental issues that can develop from missing teeth.
