Root canal treatment removes infected pulp from a tooth, relieving pain and saving the tooth.
ROOT CANAL TREATMENT
One-third of the tooth is what you can see above the gum, and two-thirds of the tooth is inside the bone. This part is called the “ROOT”.
The tooth gets its nourishment and life from the blood vessels and nerves that enter the tooth through canals in the roots; these are the “ROOT CANAL”. When the infection involves the top two hard layers and enters the soft core, the entire root canal system gets infected, and the cleaning of this is called “ROOT CANAL TREATMENT”
What is it?
A Root Canal Treatment is a procedure in which the core of the tooth (the pulp) is affected or infected.
The core of the tooth (the pulp chamber) and its root canals are properly cleaned and shaped, and a bio-inert material is packed and sealed into them.
At WINNING SMILES DENTAL CLINIC, we are happy to say that we have a 97% success rate over a period of 15 years for the root canals done at our clinic.
This treatment comes with baggage and notoriety, but the procedure we have curated over the years, makes us get most of the referrals. We therefore request that you keep all your fears aside when you visit us for it.
Who needs it?
Root Canal Treatment is indicated when the following symptoms occur. The symptoms depend on what stage the infection is at.
- Sharp, shooting pain in a specific tooth.
- Deep cavities are those that have eaten away tooth structure right up to the core.
- Inability to sleep at night due to toothache.
- Wincing and lingering pain on ice.
- Distinct pain on tapping the tooth.
- Inability and avoidance to eat from the affected side.
- Pain from drinking tap water.
- Pain persists in spite of taking painkillers, or pain returns after the effect of the painkiller wanes.
- A swelling, gum boil, or pustule associated with a tooth.
- Pain relief from external application of ice.
- Pain in spite of anesthesia.
- Fractures and chip-offs that have reached the core but are limited to the crown part of the tooth.
- An intentional root canal in full-mouth rehabilitation cases.
Types of Root Canal treatments at WSDC
- Basic (discontinued)
- Uses manual techniques that have been used for the last 25–30 years.
- Cleaning and shaping are done using hand files and instruments.
- Uses arbitrary methods like X-rays to find out the length of root canals.
- Increased number and duration of sittings
- Unstable and soluble sealers
- Advanced
- Uses modern, sophisticated equipment such as engine-driven rotary instruments for more efficient cleaning and shaping.
- Definite canal length is estimated using electronic apex locators that avoid errors in radiographic and tactile estimates.
- Shorter and fewer sittings
- Lesser X-rays
- Activated irrigants
- Allowing us to complete RCTs in a single sitting if needed.
- Sealers that induce bone healing
- Earlier on, when there was mobility and bone loss around the tooth, it had to be removed. Now, with the new approach, we are observing bone regeneration as a pattern in almost 80% of our cases.
- Re-RCTs (revision root canals)
At Winning Smiles, we see a lot of cases where previously performed root canal treatments have gotten reinfected. It’s a little unpredictable and challenging to re-treat these teeth. We take some calculated risks when we embark on this adventure. The ability of the human body to heal leaves us amazed. Missing canals or short fillings are easier to treat. The canals in which we find broken instruments are the ones that show a compromised prognosis. If you have calcified canals or aberrant anatomy, we may request that you get a CBCT, which is a 3D scan that helps us locate the missing canals.
- Single sitting RCTs
We are equipped to execute it, but we do it only when absolutely necessary and in cases where it can be successfully executed.