Understanding Root Canal

Root Canal is one of the most popular dental treatments carried out in the dentistry domain. Although it is a common procedure,not many people understand all the aspects of it. The dental experts suggest this treatment to patients to prevent their tooth from being extracted. It is a general belief among the patients that majority of the dentists carry out this procedure even when it is not required.
Root canal is essentially a channel that is full of soft tissues that run from the surface of the tooth deep into the root. Both the root stems have a root canal and it is in this funnel shaped channel where the main tissues of the teeth lie. Often times, people face dental pain due to lack of good dental hygiene and bad eating habits. This leads to plaque accumulation, which in turn causes the tooth to decay and the patients experience dental pain. In such cases, the patients may require root canal treatment to prevent further decaying of the tooth as well as to get rid of the pain. In this treatment, the doctor removes the original soft tissue from the canal and replaces it with an artificial one.
The dental experts administer local anaesthesia before carrying out root canal treatment. This is because during the procedure the doctor has to work with the soft tissue in the canal that contains the main nerve tissue. The anaesthesia makes the tooth and the surrounding area numb and it becomes easier for the patient to bear the pain. During the process, the dentist drills down through the tooth to remove the decayed tissue. The space of the removed tissue is filled with special dental cement.
Usually, the dentists take an x-ray of the affected tooth after the procedure is completed. This is to ensure that the there are no air pockets in the canal. If the dentists find an air pocket in the x-ray than the doctors will remove the cement and refill it again. If the dentist is completely satisfied that there are no air pockets, the hole in the tooth is then sealed permanently.
A lot of people have a notion that root canal is a painful and complicated procedure. However, truth is it is a simple procedure and since the treatment is carried out under anaesthesia, the patient doesn’t experience any pain during and after the process is completed. Only in rare cases, the patients feel a mild pain for a couple of days after the procedure. The best thing about this treatment is that it is completed in a single sitting.
Dentists around the world argue that there is no alternative to root canal treatment for addressing the tooth decaying problems. However, some dental experts suggest that the oral infection can also be treated by administering antibiotics. Most doctors refrain from taking the antibiotic route mainly because if the antibiotics fail to work, it would be too late to save the tooth even with root canal. If you wish to know more about how the treatment works and its benefits, you must consult the experts at Balmain Dentist. You can also visit their website http://www.balmaindentist.com.au/ to widen your knowledge about root canal.

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