The thought of having a root canal done can be pretty nerve racking!

Root canal therapy is required when there is an infection in the nerve/pulp of the tooth. Pain in teeth requiring root canal is due to the infection/injury caused to the nerve of the tooth due to decay/fracture in tooth and not due to root canal therapy.

Thanks to advancements in the field of dentistry and local anesthetics used to numb the tooth requiring a root canal, this procedure is almost painless.

To prevent other teeth from requiring root canals, early diagnosis and treatment of decayed teeth are important. Personal care of oral hygiene should also be followed to prevent tooth decay.

Periodic visits to the dentist are recommended.

In a root canal treatment (RCT) procedure, after numbing the tooth, an access hole is made through the decayed tooth. The pulp/nerve of the tooth that is infected is cleaned out with endodontic files. Once cleaned well, the root canal space is filled with gutta percha and the decayed portion of the crown is restored with a filling. The tooth is now ready to receive a crown.

Root canal treatment eliminates pain caused due to infection/injury of the pulp of tooth.