Endodontic therapy or root canal therapy is designed to eliminate bacteria from the infected root canal, prevent reinfection of the tooth, and save the natural tooth.
What are the steps?
Root canal therapy is done in three steps, and it takes between one and three sessions to complete.
1. Cleaning the root canal
The dentist first removes the decay area at the tooth and then access to the canals (this procedure is done under local anesthesia).
2. Filling the root canal
Next, the dentist cleans, shapes and decontaminates the hollow area, using tiny files and irrigation solutions. Then, the tooth is filled with a plastic-like material, using an adhesive cement to seal the canals completely.
After root canal therapy, the tooth is dead. The patient will no longer feel any pain in that tooth because the nerve tissue has been removed, and the infection has been eliminated.
3. Adding a crown or filling
After the root canal is done, the dentist will put filling on the tooth. All root canal treated teeth will need a crown to support the remained tooth structure.
After the treatment, some tenderness and sensitivity is normal.