Root Canal Dentistry is known casually as 'having a root canal.' It is known formally as endodontic therapy. Getting a root canal is often thought of as a painful procedure, but it should actually be painless if it is done right and it is absolutely necessary for damaged teeth. If teeth are neglected, they can become infected, be extraordinarily painful, and lead to further serious health problems if infection spreads.
If a dentist sees a tooth is cracked or decaying and therefore vulnerable to infection, the tooth is cracked open with a drill. Inside a tooth contains pulp. The pulp may already be infected, but whether it is or not, the pulp is extracted from the tooth completely. This fully kills the tooth, but it at least saves the tooth in form and keeps it from having to be pulled.
It also saves a lot of pain since it should stop or prevent the infection. After the pulp is taken out, the tooth is cleaned, filed, and filled with a dental cement or sealant. Usually this is a liquid that must be hardened with X-rays. The good thing about doing a root canal this way is that the liquid can seep into all areas of the cavity, making sure it is totally closed up.
The tooth is, as was mentioned, dead. Nerves are completely gone from the tooth and no blood can reach it. It is often fitted with a crown. However, there is no negative to this situation apart from the price. The tooth can still be used and you don't have to suffer any gaps from missing teeth.
The reason why most people fear root canals--and the reason why they are thought of as painful--is because many people do not care for their teeth as they should. When the infection is not caught and taken care of quickly, it can seep into a person's gum from the root. It is as repulsive as it is painful, because it fills the person's gum with pus. There is little a dentist can do to control the pain of this situation. Novocaine can only go so far. Root Canal Dentistry tries to prevent this.
If this happens, both the lead-up to the root canal and the healing period are lengthened. Pressure on the root from all the pus is what causes most of the pain. The dentist will have to either cut into the tooth or gum to let the pus drain, or will give heavy medication to dry it up. Your recovery time will be that much longer.
Root canals, though necessary, can leave someone with lasting problems. There have been instances of tiny pieces of dental tools breaking off inside the tooth and being left there by the dentist. The tooth has a small chance of still becoming infected after the surgery, or it may become infected years later.
Teeth which have had root canal surgery on them are very delicate because it is only the shell of a tooth; the entire inside has been scraped out. This means that there is a high probability of the tooth cracking. Even with a crown, the tooth must be well-taken care of. All teeth can decay and a crown does not leave teeth impervious. The message to take away from this is to take very good care of your teeth for your entire life, so root canals never have to be performed in the first place.
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