Root canal treatment is a procedure to preserve your tooth that cannot be saved by normal filling. This treatment is used to repair and save a tooth that is badly decayed, broken or infected.
> Pain - if there is a deep tooth cavity with continuous pain, pain radiating to other sides of face, postural pain (where the pain get worse when you lie down or stand up)
> Fractured tooth
> Before receiving a crown or bridge
> Puss and swelling associated with tooth decay
> Discoloured tooth
It is a procedure where your dentist will remove the inflected soft tissue carefully from the tooth. The root canal procedure starts with an x-ray. This will show us a clear image of infection and damages on the tooth. Then you will be given a local anaesthesia to numb the affected tooth so that you don't feel any pain during the procedure. Next an opening is made on the tooth from which infected nerve, bacteria and other contaminants are removed using highly equipped endodontic gadgetry. In between x-rays will be taken to make sure that the instruments are in correct location. Finally after thorough cleaning the opening is filled with biocompatible sealing materials and after a few days the tooth is now ready to receive the crown.
Now that the nourishment to the tooth from the blood vessels and nerves are cut off, in time the tooth will become more brittle, so a good crown and filling offers the protection. The patient should not chew or bite on the tooth until the crown is fixed. Once the crown is placed, the person can use the tooth as before.
The pain that is felt comes from the infection and not from the treatment. The treatment does not cause pain; it only helps to reduce it. The procedure will be painless as the dentist induces numbness to the tooth and surrounding area with local anaesthesia. After treatment it is normal to feel some tenderness. It is temporary and pain medication may be enough to relieve it. The dentist may prescribe an antibiotic to treat or prevent infection.
RCT in our clinic is done by specialist dentist in endodontics on appointment basis. The cost may range from Rs.2300 to 6000. The price of the crown or cap is additional and its price differs according to the quality of the cap.
Only alternative option to RCT procedure is having the tooth removed and replace with a bridge, implant or removable artificial tooth to restore its chewing function & prevent movement of adjacent teeth. These alternatives require more treatment time and additional procedures to adjacent teeth and its supporting tissues. However, saving our natural tooth is the best option if possible, because nothing functions as good as natural tooth.
Usually RCT is done in one visit but in some special cases of infection it will take 2 to 3 visits. Once the RCT is completed it is ideal to wait for a few days to ensure everything is successful and then proceed with crown. For the crown procedure you will be given 2 appointments. 1st appointment is to prepare the rc treated tooth to receive a crown and take measurements. 2nd appointment is for the crown fixation.
• The common side effect of root canal is a dull pain sensation in the tooth following the procedure, which usually vanishes within a week after treatment. • There are chances that the crown may get loose. This will expose the treated tooth to bacteria. If left exposed the seal on the tooth may erode causing the tooth to get reinfected. So if crown dislodges you need to get it fixed by your dentist immediately.
Root canal treatment is highly successful; the procedure has more than a 95% success rate. Many teeth repaired with a root canal can last a lifetime.