What is Root Canal Treatment?
Root canal treatment is a treatment option that serves to save teeth that have become infected or have decayed. We can say that this method is quite preferred. In the treatment, the root canal inside the hard tissue of the tooth is removed. This removal process is carried out with the nerve in the “flake pa” which is in the natural cavity of the channel. At the end of the removal process, the inner part of the tooth is carefully cleaned. This resulting gap is filled by different materials. This filling process also takes place within the specialist physicians or doctors.
If the root canal treatment is not done or not, the existing decay goes down to the lower layer of the tooth. The decay reaches to the nerves in the tooth. Caries that reaches the nerves causes inflammation on the surface or foundation of the tooth. Inflammation brings with it severe pain. Normally, these dental nerves do not compromise the health or integrity of the teeth. In other words, the nerve removed during the root canal treatment does not have a very important activity or function against the tooth. However, if there is any negative substance touching the nerve, pain occurs. At the beginning of these negative conditions are bruises and the inflammation that comes with it.
The only known function of the nerve removed within the scope of root canal treatment is to identify the perception of hot or cold. But when caries gets involved, these nerves are vital. So much so that inflammation brings infection, and infection brings abscesses. Therefore, root canal treatment should not be delayed and should be done with specialist physicians if necessary.
How is Root Canal Treatment Performed?
This treatment must be done strictly by a dentist or endodontist. An endodontist is a specialist who has information about the dental pulp or nerves, which have an important place in root canal treatment. An endodontist is a dentist who has specialized in treating strokes or the health of the nerves . That’s why when you see an endodontist, you should understand that after studying dentistry, there is a dentist who has extra expertise on it.
Let’s say you go to a specialist dentist. The physician will first listen to your complaint. It will examine you to get detailed data after your complaint. Thanks to the special dental apparatus, you will determine the phenomenon that will cause your complaint. Then he will ask you when this situation is medium and how long you have been facing this pain. When the necessary questions and answers are received, he will determine the appropriate treatment option.
If he deems the option of root canal treatment appropriate, he will ask for an X-ray film to begin the procedure. With the result from the X-ray film, it becomes simpler to learn how to follow a path or the shape of the root canals. It is also possible to see signs of an infection on these X-rays. When the path followed and the treatment are determined, the root canal treatment can now be done to take action.
The specialist physician will first give local anesthesia. Local anesthesia is necessary to numb the tooth or the areas near the tooth. Of course, this is up to the doctor’s initiative. Some patients’ pain sensors may be dead. In this case, local anesthesia may not be used for root canal treatment. But most dentists apply anesthesia to the area so as not to leave their job to chance.
Treatment After Anesthesia
Since the salivary glands in the mouth cannot be blocked, a rubber layer settles in the area. Then the dentist moves to the problem area. He drills an access hole there. Through this hole, the rotten nerve or bacterial tissue and pulp are removed. Then the area is carefully cleaned. The specialist physician will carry out this cleaning process through a special rasp.
The rasps gradually settle into the hole at a level where their diameter increases. Scraping or brushing the area around the root canals is one of the stages of root canal treatment . Then the micro-residues from here are cleaned with hypochlorite. Hypochlorite is a type of sodium. Then the inner part of the tooth is cleaned at the same level. Finally, the specialist closes the area or the hole.
How Long Does the Treatment Process Last?
There are several factors that change the duration of treatment. One of these factors is the number of roots in the tooth. The more the number of roots, the more the duration of treatment increases in equal proportion. At the same time, the infection in the root canals and the cleaning of the nerves is one of the elements that can prolong the time. However, the time will be given just before the root canal treatment is started. There is no prolongation of the time by very large amounts during the procedure.
The duration of this treatment can last up to 1 week. But this period depends on your tooth structure. The duration of each root canal treatment is between 30 and 90 minutes. The prolongation of the period up to 1 week is the result of infection. If the attending physician detects infection in a visible place and wants to treat it with medication, the period is extended by 1 week. After treatment, the infection will most likely disappear. This allows the transition to root canal treatment.
In some patients, treatment takes too long. Root canal treatment may be interrupted during the day. In order to prevent such a situation, the doctor tries to use all of the available time. If the treatment hangs over the next day, the tooth is sealed on the day it is cleaned. Then, a temporary filling is made to the tooth. This is essential to prevent re-infection or similar inflammation in the canal.
What Happens After Root Canal Treatment?
In fact, the biggest mistake known in this treatment is the reality of the pain experienced after the treatment. Before entering the root canal treatment, the patient comes with a big pain complaint. Although the treatment phase is not very painful, it cannot be called painless. However, after treatment, there is a pain as much as a normal filling pain or a similar dental procedure. A pain that you cannot bear extra will not appear within the scope of root canal treatment.
If you feel unusual pain or soreness after treatment, it is most likely due to infection. But this infection is the pain remnants of the infection that touches the nerve before treatment. After a few days, these pains disappear. If you want to get detailed information, you can consult your specialist physician. He will prescribe prescription medication for this pain of yours. In order to reduce and disappear the pain, you can also avoid a few procedures. Your doctor will share these points with you.
What should be considered after root canal treatment? There are some issues that you should pay attention to
after root canal treatment. You will see firsthand the healing of your tooth or the relief of the pain over time. But it is also up to you to speed up this situation. There are some actions you need to take for this. If you perform these actions regularly, you can experience a wonderful post-treatment process. Here’s what you need to do:
- Stay away from solid foods for at least 3 days after treatment. Do not consume walnuts, hazelnuts, peanuts or similar shelled foods for at least 2 weeks. The damage to your teeth will be undeniable.
- After root canal treatment, you should take good care of your teeth and brush regularly. Take a delicate brush. Brush your teeth carefully or carefully with oval movements.
- Pay attention to the heat in liquid foods. Avoid very cold or very cold liquid foods. Prefer warm food. While doing this, take care to take your bites in small pieces. Intense pressure on or around the tooth can cause severe pain.
- Keep products like candy and chewing gum away from your teeth. Under normal circumstances, it is not useful to consume it. However, using such products after root canal treatment will cause bruises on your teeth.
By paying attention to these issues, you can complete the post-treatment process in the best way. In this process, you should definitely consult your doctor in cases of lasi swelling or similar situations.