A Closer Look at Root Canal Therapy
There are several reasons why a tooth may require root canal therapy, also known as endodontic treatment. The most common cause is untreated tooth decay. Other causes include the failure of an old restoration, fracturing, cracking, or breaking a tooth, or advanced gum disease. Although root canal therapy has a negative reputation among the general population, Dr. Maria Loukas and Dr. Thanasi Loukas, your Park Ridge dentists, want you to know this procedure is actually a wonderful and conservative way to save a compromised tooth. Instead of removing the tooth altogether, which can simply lead to other, more serious oral health problems and the need for expensive tooth replacements, only the infected “nerve” is removed and the tooth’s hard structure is saved!
The Root Canal Procedure
The procedure begins with the use of a local anesthetic to fully numb the tooth and the surrounding area. Once you are fully numb, we open up the tooth to access the canals and the infected pulp. The canals will be cleaned of any and all infection, thus relieving the patient of any pain. The canals will then be filled with a rubbery material to close the canals and prevent any infection from getting back into the canals. A temporary filling is then placed if the tooth requires a crown. If there is enough tooth structure a permanent filling may also be an option
Root canal retreatment is required when previous root canal therapy fails and the procedure needs to be redone. The most common reason for root canal failure is poor oral hygiene. The treatment consists of removing the existing rubbery material, recleaning the canals, and placing new material to seal the canals again.
Advances in Root Canal Therapy
When the root canal treatment is completed and a high-quality, well-fitting restoration is placed, endodontically treated teeth generally have an excellent chance of remaining in the mouth for as long as the other teeth. The newest method for performing root canals is with Rotary Endo, a mechanized way of sterilizing the infected pulp tissue and filling the canal with an inert material. In most cases with Rotary Endo, only one appointment is needed.