Root canal is a treatment to repair and save a badly damaged or infected tooth instead of removing it. The term “root canal” comes from cleaning of the canals inside a tooth’s root. Decades ago, root canal treatments often were painful. With dental advances and local anesthetics, most people have little if any pain with a root canal. In fact, it’s probably more painful living with a decayed tooth. Root canal alternatives include extracting the damaged tooth and replacing it with a dental implant, bridge or removable partial denture.
If you need a root canal treatment, you will probably experience the symptoms of pulp tissue damage. Individuals may experience symptoms differently, but these are the most common symptoms of an injured or damaged pulp:
Root canal treatment is one of the popular treatments that saves the tooth by removing the pulp tissue of the tooth. The treatment is usually indicated in the following cases:
Infection of the tooth: In this case, an untreated decay of the tooth may lead to inflammation and infection of the pulp. This can be dangerous when the infection spreads to the surrounding bony structures.
Trauma to the tooth: Any kind of trauma to the tooth will evoke a pulpal reaction. In many cases, the trauma might have occurred years back to be manifested as a new case of infection. Chronic irritation and trauma can also lead to the infection of the pulp.
Whatever be the reason for the infection, prompt treatment and filling of the root canals is essential to control the infection and bring the tooth back to the normal state. It is almost impossible to retain such an infected tooth without doing root canal treatment, and the other option is to extract the affected tooth and get it replaced.
