ENDODONTICS (Root Canal Treatment)

Endodontics is the main branch of science in which root canal treatments are performed. When it comes to endodontic treatment, root canal treatment usually comes to mind. The most feared treatment among dental treatment procedures is usually root canal treatment. Today, root canal treatment is performed in a single session in live teeth and in two sessions in teeth that have lost their vitality.

The Anatomy of a Tooth

The part of the tooth that is visible in the mouth is called the crown, and the part that is not visible in the mouth is called the root. Our teeth are made up of several layers. The outermost part of the crown, that is, the part seen in our mouth, is called enamel. Enamel is one of the hardest tissues in our body. The cement layer covers the root of our tooth, which is under the gingiva and surrounded by bone. There is a dentin layer under the enamel and cement layers. The characteristic of dentin is that it is the largest layer of the tooth and, unlike the enamel layer, it contains nerve endings. With this feature, it plays a role in the pain mechanism.
Under the dentin layer is the pulp of the tooth. In this part, there are vessels and nerves of the tooth. The pulp plays an important role during the eruption and development of the tooth. In addition, after tooth eruption, it informs us about the pain mechanism and the problems our teeth encounter.

How does the pulp become inflamed?

Every person has bacteria in their oral cavity. They do not harm unless undesirable conditions occur. Bacteria combine with many of the foods we eat and cause acids to form in our mouths. If we cannot remove these acids from our mouths, these substances damage the enamel and cause cavities in the enamel layer. If the cavities formed on the tooth enamel are not treated, they pass into the dentin layer under the enamel layer. Although the dentin layer warns us through pain, if the caries formed is not treated again, the microorganisms move towards the pulp. Meanwhile, the pulp engages in various ways to protect itself. One of these ways is to warn us through pain. However, if we do not treat our teeth again, after a while, microorganisms destroy the vessels and nerves in the pulp and cause inflammation.
Another way in which inflammation can occur in the pulp is trauma. A blow to the tooth can cause the veins and nerves entering the root of the tooth from the root tip to rupture, thus causing the tooth to lose its vitality. Adding microorganisms to this situation by any means causes inflammation of the pulp.
Another way the pulp can become infected is the presence of long-term periodontal (gum and surrounding) disease around the tooth.

How to understand that a tooth is infected?

Pain and sensitivity in the tooth to cold and hot foods and drinks, pain during eating can be mentioned as inflammation and the onset of an inflammation. Again, excessive color changes in the teeth can also be perceived as a sign of inflammation. Apart from these, in untreated teeth where the decay reaches the pulp, the infection exits from the root tip to the jawbone and can cause small or large swellings on the face. In this case, in the fight against infection, the use of antibiotics is appropriate, as well as the procedures performed by the dentist. The general opinion is that the tooth that forms a swollen face should be pulled out after the skewer descends. However, this is a very old idea. Even the teeth that cause such major infections can be kept in the mouth by root canal treatment, and this tooth can serve you for years, just like the healthy tooth.

Stages of Root Canal Treatment

Detecting the problem tooth by taking radiography,
If the tooth is alive, local anesthesia is applied to eliminate the sensitivity in the tooth and surrounding tissues,
Cleaning the caries in the enamel and dentin layers of the tooth and creating the cavity to reach the pulp,
Isolation by attaching a rubber dam to the tooth,
Determination of the length of work using electronic instruments and confirmation by radiography,
Destruction and removal of infected dentin layers and microorganisms in the root canal using rotary instrument systems,
Destruction of microorganisms with various root canal disinfectants when using rotary instrument systems in root canals,
If the tooth is not alive when starting the root canal treatment, waiting for a certain time with a canal antiseptic to be placed in the root canal and filling the root blood at the next meeting,
After the root canal treatment, it is aimed to cut the relationship of the tooth with the surrounding tissues and to prevent the infection from occurring again and to repair the damage in the surrounding tissues of the tooth,
After root canal treatment, especially after the treatment of live teeth, a pain that can be folded in the tooth for several days or pain when pressing on the tooth may occur. This is a normal pain that occurs after root canal treatment. With a little protection of the root canal treated tooth, it disappears in a short time. Today, the success rate in root canal treatments, where the right treatment method is applied, reaches 90%. [ref:NaturelDiş]