The root canal procedure is the most petrifying procedure for all who endure troubles erupting from the tooth. This article explicates how a root canal is conducted, what is the approximate cost you incur, and the time period for the procedure to be completed.
Root canal has a blatant reputation in the dental industry, making masses swear to their holy highness, never to set foot in a dentist’s clinic. You forbid the moment when your teeth call for an urgent appointment with your dentist. It is then that you realize that your hands prefer not to work toward finding the contact number of the dentist’s workshop, lest you know that the number sits hiding in the depths of your contact notebook.
Well, if root canal is what it is . . . you should not bite your fingers and let out a reticent screech once you are home. Root canals do have a bad name due to the pain it gifts the one who endures; however, the pain after the procedure depends on the amount of pain that you had before you had to undergo the procedure. If you have experienced discomfort and pain before the procedure, then it must be derived that you may experience pain after the procedure has been conducted.
Generally referred to as Ghost pain, this is a type of pain that precedes the treatment. To explain this theory, you may take an example of a part of the body that is amputated; there is pain in the area even when the body part does not exist anymore. This is because the brain has not registered the occurrence and is thus programmed to elicit pain in the area, that virtually still exists. The case is the same when the tooth has been extracted or when the tooth has been invaded into, in order to cure and cleanup the root of the tooth.
What Is a Root Canal?
A root canal is the space between the tooth and the root. This canal consists of the pulp chamber which is a branch or tissue like structure situated in the center of the tooth. It contains blood vessels and nerve branches. It is when these nerve branches; essentially the pulp chamber that gets affected, that the procedure has to be adopted.
Why Is a Root Canal Procedure Performed?
Root canal is conducted if the dentist finds one of the following discrepancies. They are:
- If the tooth is infected; that is if the nerve tissues have countered an infection. This either leads to removal of the tooth or removal of the infected nerve.
- If the tooth is broken; the procedure adds greater support to the damaged tooth.
- If the tooth has undergone an injury.
How Is a Root Canal Conducted?
1. The first step is to administer anesthesia to the patient. This will make the tooth numb.
2. With the dental dam placed right over the tooth that requires treatment, the center of the tooth is drilled into, and an opening is made either from the posterior side of the tooth, or the crown of the tooth, that being easily visible.
3. The nerve opening of the tooth is then located. With the procedure known as pulpectomy, the dentist drills out the pulp and releases it. They are long needle-like drills that remove the pulp from the chamber, and the nerves will be finally extricated.
4. After this is done the dentist fills out the root canal with a filling material which is generally referred to as gutta-percha. It is a rubber-like stretchy material that seeps into the canal and the tooth is further sealed with cement.
5. A crown is placed over the treated tooth so that there is no invasion of bacteria in the future. This gives it shape and also gives a firm positioning to the tooth.
Time the Procedure Demands and the Costs You Incur
Depending upon the condition of the tooth and the line of treatment, the entire treatment may take approximately 2 hours. It may even take longer, if the extent of damage requires a number of visits. For an incisor, you may pay $350 to $500 and for a molar, you may end up paying $580 to $800 on an average.
How to Prevent a Root Canal Procedure?
Pain post the procedure is the most common complication that may crop up. Bleeding and swelling in the neighboring areas of the tooth are also common, so you needn’t worry about it. However, it can be averted if you follow the advice, now an adage of sorts, stamped right next to the crimp of your toothpaste tube; ‘to brush your teeth twice, daily’. Flossing is one step that must be adhered to, as religiously as brushing your teeth, however, there are virtually very few who follow flossing to the word. An appointment with your dentist, to have your oral health inspected, is one custom that will not leave you grudging in the years to come.
Chew Over: One so-called ‘truth’ that must be divulged as a ‘myth’ is that the conduction of a root canal can lead to eruptions of intense health ailments, the bacteria being the catalyst for the same. However, let this be known that bacteria are present even in a healthfully sane mouth, sans the gum decay. This belief has its roots embedded in a study fortified by Dr. Price (from 1910 to 1930). While the significance of the study still holds gravity in the mind, recent scientific scriptures do not affirm the claim of the treatment being the ‘root cause’ of developing ailments like arthritis, or cardiac complaints.
Thus, tooth troubles solved in happier times is a better and cognizable proposition rather than condemning the dentist because of your unhealthy oral habits! Do I spell sense?
