One of the most well-know - and widely feared - dental procedures is the dreaded root canal, which is actually part of its own genre of dentistry that literally deals with the tooth from the inside out!
One of the most well-know - and widely feared - dental procedures is the dreaded root canal,
which is actually part of its own genre of dentistry that literally deals with the tooth from the inside out.
Most people know exactly what a root canal is, due to the fact that they’ve either had one before or have heard horror stories about them. Far fewer individuals are familiar with endodontics, or at least think they aren’t.
Endodontics is a dental specialty centered around the care and management of the inner pulp of the human tooth. This pulp is a non-solid material within teeth that contains nerves and tissue cells. It becomes damaged or diseased, it can lead to many troublesome issues and be quite painful thus necessitating surgery to correct the discomfort.
That’s where a root canal comes in. Endodontic therapy, as it is officially called, is the most common aspect of endodontics and is actually a sequence of related procedures that care for the overall health of a tooth’s pulp. While the treatment itself is often called a root canal, the canals themselves are physical structures that contain the pulp and can also be compromised by bacteria and other harmful contaminants.
Endodontic therapy involves opening the tooth to allow access to these canals and removing the contaminants. The hollow area is then cleaned and reshaped with instruments such as files and other scraping devices. It is then decontaminated with various solutions to sterilize it and neutralize any further infection.
Once the canal itself has been cleaned, it is filled with a material such as latex or cement to solidify it and prevent further contaminants from being able to compromise it. Once this is completed, the tooth is technically dead, as living matter is no longer present within it.
In popular culture, individuals are often known to sarcastically say that they would rather endure a root canal than complete a specific unpleasant task that is being discussed, because the procedure has a reputation of being extremely unpleasant and painful. Yet in reality, endodontic therapy is not painful or uncomfortable when performed correctly.
In many cases, the extremely unpleasant experience of the resulting issue that led to the procedure is often centered around extreme pain. The immediate recovery that follows directly may be as well. However the only time the surgery itself should lead to extreme pain is if there are complications.
While this common therapy is at the center of endodontics, there are other related procedures that involve and treat the inner chambers of human teeth. The vast majority of which are related to endodontic therapy and either work in conjunction with it or are necessary as a result of it, including those that are necessary to correct related complications.
Endodontics can be practiced by regular dentists with general practices or by specialists who work only in the specific field, but no matter who performs any of the related procedures, they likely won’t hurt as much as they’re believed to.
