The pulp is made up of blood vessels and nerves that keep your tooth healthy. If the pulp becomes infected—often due to deep decay or a large filling—it can cause severe pain, tooth discolouration, and even an abscess, which could lead to the tooth’s eventual loss.
A Root Canal treatment is designed to fix this by:
- Removing the infected or inflamed pulp from inside the tooth.
- Cleaning and shaping the remaining space in the tooth to ensure it is properly sterilized.
- Sealing the root canals with a special thermoplastic material to prevent future infection.
- In many cases, a crown or onlay is placed over the treated tooth to protect and restore it to full function.
How We Perform Root Canal Treatment at Geans Clinic
At Geans Clinic, we use the latest technology and techniques to perform root canal treatments with precision and comfort. We use an operating microscope and have the benefit of an onsite CBCT scanner to diagnose in better detail and work under high magnification, ensuring that every step of the procedure is done with utmost care and accuracy.
What to Expect
1. Initial Consultation:
We’ll examine the tooth and take an X-ray to determine the extent of the infection.
2. Root Canal Procedure:
After numbing the area, the infected pulp is removed, and the root canals are cleaned and sealed.
3. Post-Treatment Care:
Once the root canal is complete, we’ll provide instructions for aftercare. You may be prescribed pain relief or antibiotics to aid recovery.
Aftercare and Maintenance
To maintain the health of a root canal-treated tooth, it’s important to continue with routine dental care and good oral hygiene practices, such as brushing and flossing daily. Regular check-ups will also help ensure the long-term success of the treatment.
Step by step procedure
Step 1: Initial examination and x-ray
Before performing a root canal, the dentist will conduct a thorough examination of the affected tooth. This may include taking an x-ray to understand the extent of the infection or damage. The X-ray helps identify the infected areas and guides the treatment.
Step 2: Local anaesthesia
To ensure you’re comfortable and pain-free, a local anaesthesia is administered to numb the tooth and the surrounding areas. This means you won’t feel any pain during the procedure, though you may feel some pressure.
Step 3: Accessing the tooth
Once the area is numb, the dentist will create a small opening in the crown (top) of the tooth to access the pulp chamber. This opening is typically done with a small drill.
Step 4: Removal of the infected pulp
The dentist will carefully remove the infected or damaged pulp from the pulp chamber and the root canals. The pulp is the soft tissue inside the tooth that contains blood vessels, nerves, and connective tissue. Once the pulp is removed, the empty space is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected to eliminate any remaining bacteria or debris.
Step 5: Shaping the root canals
After the pulp is removed, the dentist uses small, specialised instruments to shape and enlarge the root canals to ensure they are properly cleaned. The goal is to create a smooth, clean surface inside the tooth, free of infection.
Step 6: Sealing the root canals
Once the tooth is properly cleaned and shaped, the dentist fills the empty root canals with a biocompatible material, typically gutta-percha, a rubber-like substance that seals the canals. This material helps prevent bacteria from re-entering the tooth. The opening in the tooth is also sealed with a temporary or permanent filling.
A root canal procedure can take one or two visits, depending on the complexity and condition of the tooth. It’s important to follow your dentist’s advice for aftercare to ensure the long-term success of the treatment.
