
Many people avoid root canal treatment as they feel that it must be a complicated treatment. However, the fact is that it is a simple treatment and has several advantages. This article provides you with some factual information related to the benefits of this treatment.
The tooth structure consists of two parts: the ‘crown’ or visible part of the tooth and the ‘root’ that holds the tooth. The structural components of a tooth are: tooth enamel or the hard outer covering, dentine that lies under the enamel, dental pulp and cementum. The dental pulp is the soft tissue located at the center of the tooth and contains nerves and blood vessels. When there is a tooth decay or the tooth is broken due to trauma, then the bacteria inside the mouth gets the scope to attack the dental pulp and destroy its soft tissues. Then the infections spread further down to the root canal and the tissues surrounding the tooth become red and inflamed and cause toothache.
This damaged tooth is then treated with the help of treatment. It is a dental procedure used for treating bacterial infection in the dental pulp. During the procedure, the infected nerves, blood vessels and dead tissues of dental pulp are removed and the root canals are cleaned up and sealed with fillings to prevent any further infection. The following segment sheds light on benefits of this treatment.
Root Canal Treatment Benefits
Root canal treatment eliminates the infection from the dental pulp and provides the much-needed relief from the excruciating pain. Many people are anxious and have apprehensions that they may experience pain during the course of treatment. I would like to tell you that dentists take proper measures so that you do not feel any pain. Moreover, it is an absolutely safe procedure and you can feel its positive effects soon after the treatment.
A less expensive alternative to root canal treatment is tooth extraction. In fact, a few decades ago, most people had to opt for tooth extraction only to get relief from a bad toothache. Its biggest disadvantage is that the gap created by the missing tooth causes a lot of discomfort while chewing and biting. If this gap due to loss of tooth is not filled up, then it leads to shifting of the adjoining teeth. This results in crooked teeth and it is a big challenging task to keep the crooked teeth clean. As a result, these unaffected teeth may get destroyed by bacteria too. Even replacing the gap with a false tooth is quite uncomfortable as it often does not fit into the space properly. A root canal saves your natural tooth and you do not have to face these problems.
Once the tooth is treated and a dental crown is fitted, it will continue to function like any other normal and healthy tooth for a long time and there is no need to extract the tooth in future. However, if the tooth is not covered with a dental crown after the treatment, then there is a chance that it may get broken. This is because the tooth tends to become brittle as the nerve of the tooth has been removed and blood supply to the tooth has stopped. Thus it can be said that to yield the benefits of root canal treatment, the tooth has to be crowned.
In case of an emergency, pregnant women need not avoid the treatment out of fear of pain since it is almost painless. However, they have to inform their dentist about their pregnancy. They are also concerned about X-rays used before the treatment. When dentists know that a woman is pregnant, then they protect the unborn baby from the potential hazards of X-rays by using a lead apron. The medications that are prescribed during treatment are those which are safe for a woman during pregnancy.
Thus, we can conclude from this article that root canal treatment is of great help to successfully preserve an infected and damaged tooth. To obtain best results from this treatment, you must strictly follow the aftercare instructions provided by the dentist. It is equally important that you keep all the dental appointments as per the schedule. Usually, most people do not feel pain, soreness or any other major forms of discomfort after the procedure. Still, if any such thing happens to bother you during recovery, then you must contact your dentist immediately.