Root Canal Treatments (Behind The Scenes)
NOTE: BLOG HAS A FREE DENTAL APPOINTMENT CHECKLIST POSTER!
Is it odd that even as a dentist, I think of the root canal treatment as this extravagantly expensive procedure from the eyes of a patient? Probably not, I can almost bet that you feel the same way. I mean who really gets excited about a root canal after all?
Well, if I am really honest, a root canal treatment is one of the most essential procedures we have the privilege to conduct. Actually if you think about it, a RCT is literally the same thing as those Egyptian mummies! Yeah! I know! Just like the mummification process where they preserved the physical body of the deceased, we as dentists get to preserve your tooth after it dies!
You heard me, I said DIES!
Okay, let me simplify this so it does not sound this dramatic. See, if you read our “Brushing Twice a Day” blog then you would know that cavities are completely preventable by proper oral hygiene followed by consistency. However, if that is not the case and we get these cavities that give us sharp and short pains caused by cold and sweet (lasting less than 11-15 seconds), then we must rush to the dentist to get it repaired. After this checkpoint, if the decay digs deeper into the tooth and touches the pulpal area - the blood and heart of the tooth, then it is irreversible. As soon as the bacteria from the decay reach the pulp, it spreads throughout the tooth almost immediately causing the whole tooth to be infected!
Now imagine this: your tooth has a solid casing which now has infected pulp and it is irritated and agitated from all this bacterial overwhelm. What do you think this pulp is gonna do? It is suffocating! It will start to push outwards, trying to get out of the area. And therefore, we start feeling this extreme excruciating pain due to this intense pressure built up inside the tooth. Unfortunately, it fails to breach the enamel outside and finds its way down the roots of the tooth! This is where it enters the “Root Canals” and makes its way through the little opening at the bottom called the “Apex” and all of a sudden it gets a relief as it enters the jaw bones! In this process, we would feel lingering pains (longer than 15 seconds) and sleepless nights!
This is when our teeth are considered dead! Or as we say it - NECROTIC! Really, it is a real endodontic diagnosis, it is called “pulpal necrosis” and the treatment is no longer repaired, it is now Root Canal Treatment.
So, what really happens during the RCT, you ask?
Well it is a beautiful 5 step procedure aimed at flushing all that infection out of our tooth, and mummifying it so it can remain preserved. The procedure works to pull out the infected and dead nerves as well as the blood tissue that is now more harmful to us than useful.
Here are the stages:
Drilling through the enamel and dentin (top harder layers of the tooth)
This relieves all that pressure built up and gives us instant pain relief
Now we are within the pulp area and we can see it as infected
Irrigation and cleaning of the Pulp Canals all down to the roots and its Apex.
This ensures that wherever those bacteria are hiding, they are flushed out.
The canal is now called sterile (absence of bacteria)
A special rubbery sealant (Gutta Percha Cones) is placed within the now hollow root canals with medicated sealing agents.
This makes sure no bacteria can survive and the remaining suffocate and die as well.
The roots are now mummified!
A filling material is now packed on top of the roots and into the crown area of the tooth which mimics the enamel and dentin qualities.
This allows the crown to become hard and rock-like solid.
The crown of the tooth is also mummified now!
The dentist sets a crown on the filling.
This allows us to use this dead but preserved tooth to chew like a vital tooth.
The aesthetics of the tooth is also preserved as the carved grooves on the chewing surface of the tooth are well designed.
I think it would be easier if we saw an audio/visual of these 5 steps, what do you think? Yeah? So, here is a video made by the American Association of Endodontists to visually show these 5 steps:
Root Canal Treatment - American Association of Endodontists.
In these 5 steps, your dentist basically gives you a brand new tooth which is now infection free, pain free and permanently sealed from the external infectious environment! How amazing is that?!
Oh and fun fact: recent studies have shown that a precisely crafted root canal treatment has a life span of 15-20 years before any further repair needs to be done! It just gets better and better, doesn’t it?! It is this skill and expertise that makes this treatment so expensive and extravagant.
However, the fate of our pockets becoming lighter and us going through this extrapolated procedure is all in our hands. This is a completely presentable procedure. All we have to do is the following:
Keep teeth clean - Brush Twice a Day and floss too!
Eat sugary foods but clean them immediately after consumption so they do not stick!
Visit the dentist regularly to be on top of your dental health!
But jokes apart, that is all it takes to avoid going through this expensive and extravagant procedure we call The Root Canal Treatment.
I tell you what, let me make this easier for you all gorgeous smiles out there. I have inserted a link below to a very creative poster I created. It is free to download and even freer to share! (Not sure if freer is a word though! Silly me). Anyways, this will help you keep on top of your game for when to visit a dentist or not! It is subjected to us visiting the dentist at an appropriate time! Let’s work together and remember, it’s a beautiful day to save them smiles!
Check it out and let us know if it helped you! Click the link below:
The Dental Appointment CHECKLIST
Researched and Written by:
Dr. Kanan Shah
BDS
Co-Founder, C.E.O.
The Tooth Factory - 2019
Evidence Based Research:
El-Ma'aita AM, Qualtrough AJ, Darcey J, Hunter MJ. Rethinking root canal treatment: understanding the difference between preventing and treating endodontic infection. Br Dent J. 2015 Jul 10;219(1):13-6. doi: 10.1038/sj.bdj.2015.527. PMID: 26159976.
https://www.aae.org/patients/root-canal-treatment/what-is-a-root-canal/root-canal-explained/
