Root canal treatment is a procedure used to repair and save a badly decayed tooth. During root canal treatment, the nerve and pulp are removed, cleaned and sealed. Without the root canal treatment, the tissue surrounding the tooth will get infected and results in abscess formation.

"Root canal" typically means the natural cavity within the center of a tooth. Root canal contains pulp chamber or pulp (which is the soft area) and the nerves.

Many people may have a question that the root canal treatment involves the removal of nerve and pulp, will there be any effects due to its removal? Tooth's nerve is not important to a tooth's function and health once it has emerged through the gums. The only function of the nerve is to provide sensation such as hot or cold. Absence or presence of nerve will not affect the functioning of the tooth.

Why should the tooth pulp be removed?

When the nerve tissue or pulp of a tooth is damaged, it breaks down and bacteria starts multiplying in the pulp chamber and result in decayed debris. The decayed debris can cause abscessed tooth or infection. An abscessed tooth is a pus-filled pocket that develops at the last part of the root, an abscess may also develop when the infection spreads to the ends of roots of a tooth. Infection in the root canal of the tooth can result in the bone loss that may occur around the root, swelling that can spread over face, head and neck.

Is root canal painful?

Many people are in a false impression that root canal procedure is painful, but many people have reported that the procedure is not painful.

How successful are root canal treatments?

Root canal treatments in Glendale, CA have a success rate of 95% and many teeth repaired with root canals can last for the lifetime. As root canal procedure is an application of restoration such as fillings or a dental crown, it will not be noticeable to onlookers that a root canal treatment was performed.

Alternatives to root canal treatment

The only option to root canal treatment is having the tooth extracted and replaced with a dental implant, bridge or removable partial denture to prevent adjacent teeth from shifting and restore the chewing function. Moreover, these procedures are not only expensive than root canal treatment but need more time and additional procedure to supporting tissues and adjacent teeth.

Prevention of root canal

Maintain good oral hygiene practices such as brushing twice a day, floss once a day, a visit your dentist regularly to reduce the requirement for root canal treatment. Saving your natural tooth is the best thing, as the natural teeth allow you to eat a variety of foods required to maintain proper nutrition.

After root canal treatment

Regardless of the efforts made by your dentist to clean and seal the decayed tooth, there are certain complications which can emerge as a new infection. These complication may arise when there are repeated number of root canals performed in a tooth (leaving one of the procedures uncleaned), when there is an unnoticed crack in the root of a tooth, when an inadequate dental restoration is performed due to which the bacteria get past the restoration to contaminate the area and when there is a breakdown of the sealing materials over time.