Everything You Need to Know about Root Canal and The Treatment That Follows!

A toothache is one of the most common injuries that many people come across at least once in their lifetime and there is a number of reasons attached to it such as tooth decay, damaged fillings, tooth fracture, abscessed tooth and infected gums. The biggest of all is the cavities that are formed due to tooth decay both the outer surface of the tooth as well as its inner layer and these are the primary cause of tooth pain or loss. The severity of a toothache can result in excessive swelling, fever, headaches and ear pains.

What is root canal treatment?

Root canal treatment is a dental procedure that is used to restore decayed and damaged teeth with a motive to prevent a toothache or any loss caused to them. This treatment procedure involves the removal of the pulp and nerve of an infected tooth followed by cleaning and sealing process subsequently. The root canal is an effective treatment procedure that provides the solution to dental problems and is relatively a quick and inexpensive surgery.

Types of Root canal treatment

Since a root canal is a procedure that is used to cure abnormal conditions, it is used to cure issues such as injuries, infections and anything else that is occurring deep inside the tooth. The damaged root pulp is removed and replaced with a rubbery material.

Here are the types of RCT to look at:

• Nonsurgical root canal treatment (RCT) is performed primarily to check inflammation and if this RCT does not completely cure the issue, a secondary RCT is needed.

• Apicoectomy is performed when a person cannot have primary RCT. This is a micro-surgical procedure wherein the infected tissues are removed along with the infected tooth.

• Pulpotomy and pulpectomy are the procedures that are used to cure injuries of children. A pulpotomy removes the nerve and diseased pulp from the crown of the tooth. There is no change to the root nerve. While in Pulpectomy, all nerves and pulp are removed even from the root.

Considerations before undergoing RCT:

• Eat regular meals, but ensure that you avoid eating the night before the procedure day as it can interfere with sedation during the procedure.

• Medicate yourself before the beginning but with doctor’s permission, in case you are undergoing regular medication.

• Avoid drinking alcohol or smoking at least 12 hours before the root canal treatment, as it can lead to excessive bleeding and a long recovery time.

• Wear comfortable clothing for the treatments as it may last for several hours.

• Eat soft food and avoid sticky stuff. If possible, avoid chewing with the infected side.

• Sleep in an elevated position so that it does not cause further damage to the infected tooth.

Post-operative diet for a root canal treatment

• To prevent your tooth from further damages and pain, avoid eating crunchy foods such as corn, apples etc.

• Alcohol to be avoided as it can cause unnecessary bleeding.

• Avoid eating excessively hot and spicy food.

• Chewy and hard food can pull out the temporary filling, thus avoid including them in your meals.

• Say no to smoking as it can provide damage to your treated tooth, causing gums around it to deteriorate.

Which candidates are ideal to undergo root canal treatment?

• The ones experiencing serious pain while eating.

• The ones whose teeth are extremely sensitive to heat or cold.

• If a person develops small bumps on the gums around aching teeth.

• The people with extreme swelling or inflammation in gums.

• People with a positive prognosis of teeth and the ones who want to avoid a tooth extraction.

• Children more than 3-4 years of age and adults.

For best effective results of the treatment, ensure that you keep in mind all the considerations followed before and after the root canal treatment. Since this is a lengthy process, you might have to undergo more than one appointment to make this procedure complete. Well, make sure it with more than one dentist as it is a surgery to have proceeded in case the trauma and the infection in the tooth is too extensive.

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