What is Endodontics?
It is a discipline that deals with diseases around the root canals of the veins and nerves and the root of the tooth and their treatment. Briefly, it is the field of dentistry which is dealing with root canal treatmentWhat is root canal treatment?
The canal treatment is the cleaning, disinfecting the root or roots from these infected tissues, and filling with channel filling materials due to the being infected the veins and nerves in the root canals and losing their vitality as a result of the fractures and cracks in the teeth, dental cavities, improper treatment processes and major restorations.
- severe pain especially at nights
- long-term hot and cold sensitivity
- pain caused by chewing and not being able to press the tooth
- discoloration of tooth
- swelling around the tooth, sensitivity and pain in the lymph nodes
- Detection of problematic tooth with radiograph
- Ensuring the narcotization of teeth and tissues around the teeth with local anesthesia, If the tooth is alive.
- Making a cavity to reach the nerves by cleaning the tooth decays on the enamel and dentin layers of the tooth.
- Determination of root lengths and confirmation with radiography by using electronic devices
- Cleaning and removal of infected dentin layers and microorganisms in the root canal by using rotary tool systems,
- Destruction of microorganisms with various root canal disinfectants
- Getting started with canal treatment
- If the tooth is not alive during the canal treatment; It is waited for a specified time with a canal antiseptic to be placed in the root canal and the root canals are filled in the next session. If the tooth is alive during the canal treatment, root canal filling is done in the same session and the canal treatment has been completed.
Any pain in the tooth is not felt; because the tooth is narcotised with anesthesia before root canal treatment.
After canal treatment, the patient can have a mild pain on the tooth during chewing.This pain disappears within a few days. Anti-inflammatory drugs can relieve the pain after treatment.
The tooth decay spreads and damages the nerves and veins of the tooth and gets worse that it cannot be healed. So the tooth loses its vitality and the infection spreads to the root of the tooth. If canal treatment is not applied; the root tip becomes infected. The abscess appears in the cavity and the patient can have severe pain and swelling. If the inflammation at the root tip is not treated; a cyst occurs at the root tip. If the tooth is untreatable; the tooth extraction may be required.
The success rate of canal treatments is %90-95 that are according to the procedure and made sterile. Root canal treatments may fail because of the insufficient root canal filling, not completely removal and not being disinfected the nerves in the root canals and the infiltration of microorganisms into the root canal due to the top fillings. Symptoms of failure are pains due to the long-term chewing and and severe pain. So the canal treatment needs to be renewed for the teeth for which the canal treatment has been applied.