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Root Canals Dangers and Treatment

What is a Root Canal?
A root canal is a dental treatment of the tooth root used to save a tooth that has considerable tooth decay or has been substantially weakened through trauma. Typically, performing a root canal will be the last chance the dentists has to save the tooth.

What is the treatment?
Root canals are typically performed by a specialist endodontists who only perform root canals. However, many general dentists also perform root canals. In general, especially with a more complex treatment with several canals, or with a tooth that needs retreating or is suffering from infection, it usually pays dividends overtime to go with specialist who just deals with tooth nerve and pulp issues.
During a root canal treatment your dentist will remove the tooth nerve and pulp and clean inside the natural cavity or root canal of the tooth. The tooth's nerve is located in the root canal. Your dentists will use special tools to reach inside each of the root canals on your tooth.


What are the steps in a root canal procedure?
Your endodontist will take detailed X-rays to see if their is any infection and to capture the exact size and location of the root canals and nerve locations. You will be given a local anesthetic. To keep the treatment area dry and free of saliva the dentist will place a rubber device called a dam around the tooth.
Next a hole will be drilled into the tooth to gain an access hole into the central pulp area. All the pulp nerve tissue and related debris is removed from the tooth.
Next each root canal is cleaned out using root canal files. These files are typically associated with fear and pain in the minds of patients. These files are worked through the length of the tooth to scape out and clean the insides of the root canals. Antibacterial agents and water are used to flush away debris and deposits. Your dentist will start with small files gradually working up to larger files to ensure the canals are clean and clear of debris. Once the filing is complete, the tooth is sealed. The process of cleaning is time and consuming and needs to performed with meticulous precision by your dentist. Sometimes the canals are long and curved, which makes the process even more labour intensive. Your dentists may choose to wait and add anti- bacterial medication to the tooth to clean all remaining infection.
Once the tooth is thoroughly cleaned, it is sealed. Some dentists like to wait a week before sealing the tooth. For instance, if there is an infection, your dentist may put a medication inside the tooth to clear it up. Others may choose to seal the tooth the same day it is cleaned out. If the root canal is not completed on the same day, a temporary filling is placed in the exterior hole in the tooth to keep contaminants out between appointments.
The tooth will then need filling and will probably need capping with a crown or filling to fill the original access hole that was drilled. Most cases will require a crown.

Does a Root Canal hurt?
Of all the dental procedures root canals have perhaps the worst reputation from pain. Tell someone you are going for a root canal and they will wince sympathetically. Again, new procedures, more precise equipment, digital scans and precisely calibrated dental techniques have all worked together to greatly minimize the pain. With the arsenal of pain management drugs available to your dentist, you should not suffer any pain and the treatment can now be surprisingly quick. After the treatment, you may suffer from imflammation and sensitivity, which can usually be alleviated with over the counter pain medications.

What are the dangers of root canals?
The major issues with root canals are infection. Once the nerve is destroyed the tooth is essentially dead and will discolour over time. Critics of root canal treatments contend that it's almost impossible to fully clean all the intricate canals. Even if it were possible, and the dentist performs the most meticulous job, the dentin consists of miles of tiny tubules which can house the tiny microscopic that cause decay and infection. In a normal healthy tooth the tubules transport fluid that carries nourishment to the inside of the tooth. The dead root canal filled tooth no longer has any fluid, and the bacteria can live there and be difficult to flush out with anti-biotics. A filled root seems to be a favorite spot to start a new colony.A defective or cracked dental restoration can allow bacteria to recontaminate the area. Sometimes the roots are not fully cleaned, or even missed altogether. The most famous anti-root canal advocate is the dentist Weston Price who performed extensive experiments in the 1900s and showed that the bacteria produced in the root canals were responsible for a host of diseases, including arthritis, heart and circulatory diseases. This work was more recently revealed by George Meinig in his book the Root Canal Cover up, who charges that all root canals produce bacteria, which in healthy individuals is kept at bay by the immune system. Over time, particularly as people age and have more root canals with weakened immunity, the body can no longer fight off the bacterial infection, resulting in chronic disease.

What is a Retreatment of a Root Canal?
If the root canal continues to cause problems or becomes infected the most common endodontic surgical procedure is a root-end resection or apicoectomy. The tooth will be cleaned again, and sometimes the very end of the root will be removed and the whole tooth re-sealed. Tens of millions of root canals are performed every year across the world. Relatively few need retreating and cause bacterial infection, bone loss or weakened immunity.

What are the alternatives to a Root Canal?
Once you need a root canal, the tooth is almost lost. Sadly your alternatives are not good to say the least. Pulling the tooth entirely, a bridge that attaches to healthy tooth nearby, or a implant held in place with a screw into the gum are really the only options. The cheapest option, simply pulling the tooth is cosmetically unacceptable to many, and presents a real social challenge.