Need a Root Canal Here’s a Step by Step Guide on What to Expect

May 9, 2019 by The Dental Home

Preparing your mouth and tooth: Root Canal Specialist in Gurgaon

Before we start talking about root canal procedure, let us understand the basic fact that root canal is quite a common treatment to treat tooth decay. Therefore, don’t worry over how complicated the process for root canal will be. We will help you with basic facts and information to know everything about what root canal treatment entails. To begin with, Root canal is a type of endodontic treatment where ‘endo’ means inside and ‘odont’ stands for tooth in Greek. The procedure in simple words involves treating your tooth from inside.

Here are basic steps that a dentist performs when preparing for a root canal procedure:

  • First, the dentist will take an X-ray of the affected area to see the shape of the root canals and determine if there are any signs of infection in a surrounding bone.
  • Next, the dentist or endodontist will use local anesthesia to numb the area near the tooth. Often, anesthesia may not be necessary, since the nerve is dead, but most dentists still anesthetize the area to make you more relaxed and at ease.

Then, to keep the area around the affected tooth dry, isolated and free of saliva during the treatment, a thin sheet of vinyl or rubber called a dental dam will be used.

Cleaning, shaping and filling the tooth

Specialized root canal files are used by dentists to carry out the cleaning process of the tooth area. Once your affected tooth area is ready for the treatment, an access hole will be drilled into the tooth. Your dentist will then use a series of root canal files of increasing diameter by subsequently placing each one of them into the access hole. The files are then worked down the full length of the tooth to scrape and scrub the sides of the root canals. This will help remove the decayed nerve tissue, the pulp along with bacteria, and related debris from the tooth. With removal of the nerve tissue, added bonus would be that you won’t feel any pain. Water or sodium hypochlorite will be used periodically to flush away the debris.

Shaping of tooth is a delicate process that requires a lot of skill. Shaping during root canal involves contours of the tooth’s canals being enlarged and flared, so that they have a shape that’s more ideal for the procedure’s filling and sealing step. During shaping of the tooth, the dentist will seek to achieve an ideal shape, without removing internal tooth structure to an extent, or in a fashion, that might compromise the integrity of the tooth.

The dentist will then flush the canals with antibacterial solutions before filling them completely with a rubberlike biocompatible material called gutta-percha. The gutta-percha is placed with an adhesive cement to ensure complete sealing of the root canals. Often a temporary filling will be used to close the access hole opening.

Sealing the tooth from reinfection

The final step involves further restoration and sealing of the tooth. The gutta-percha filling and sealers will prevent bacteria from once again entering the tooth. To ensure that the affected tooth that has undergone a root canal to treat a large filling or extensive decay or other weakness, a crown, crown and post, or other restoration will often be placed on the tooth to protect it and prevent it from breaking. This helps restore the tooth to its full function. In some cases, dentists may leave the tooth open so additional material can drain out of the tooth before it is filled and sealed. Some dentists will put a temporary filling in the tooth to protect the area while the infected material drains away completely. In either case, your dentist will normally discuss the need for any additional dental work with you.

There are several instructions to be followed both during and post the root canal to manage the pain. Such as, one should not chew or bite on the treated tooth until you have had it restored by your dentist. The unrestored tooth is susceptible to fracture. Therefore, avoid delay in seeing your dentist for a full restoration.

If you’re looking for a rct treatment in Gurgaon, why not have a consultation at the The Dental Home to come up with a treatment plan tailored to your specific requirements? We’d be happy to help.