What is a root canal?
Above the gum and visible in the mouth is the CROWN of the tooth, Below the gum supporting the crown is the ROOT, The root has a tube running from its tip in the bone to a chamber inside the crown of the tooth, This tube is lined with special cells which made the tooth develop starting at the time of birth. As we get older these cells (ondontoblasts) produce more and more root material and the root canal [tube] gets progressively smaller with age. Diffierent teeth have differing numbers of roots and a variable number of tubes (or root canals) in each root. Normally, the incisor and canine teeth have one root and one root canal. Premolar can have one or two roots arid molars two or three roots, with up to 5 roots canals.
Most of the time, a root canal (Endodontic) Treatment is a relatively simple procedure with little or no discomfort involving one to three visits. Best of all, it can save your tooth and your smile! With root canal therapy you may save that tooth. Inside each tooth is the pulp which provides nutrients and nerves to the tooth, it runs like a thread down through the root. When the pulp is diseased or injured, the pulp tissue dies. If you don’t remove it, your tooth gets infected and you could lose it. After the dentist removes the pulp, the root canal is cleaned and sealed off to protect it. Then your dentist places a crown over the tooth to help make it stronger.
A root canal procedure is a procedure by which the nerve, (pulp tissue) , is removed from the inside of the tooth. There are many causes of why the nerve in the tooth may become painful. Decay and trauma are the two most common causes. This irritation of the nerve is called pulpitis. The tooth is held into the jawbone by 1-3 roots, depending on the tooth. Inside each root, is an area called the pulp chamber. The nerve branches off from the centre of the tooth into each root. Whenever the nerve becomes sore and irritated, the nerve begins to die. This dead nerve tissue and miscellaneous debris needs to be removed from the inside of the tooth to allow the bone around the root to heal. Modern root canal procedure is a relatively painless procedure and patients are relieved when the tooth no longer hurts them anymore. There have been huge advances in technology in this field in recent years so that root canal treatment has become easier and more successful than ever before. If an abscessed
