Why Does a Root Canal Treatment Take 3 Visits?
If you’ve undergone a root canal before, you understand how frightening the idea of this procedure can be. Sitting in a dentist’s chair to have your tooth drilled into and cleaned out can make you want to skip the appointment altogether.
However, the truth is that this procedure was designed to save your natural tooth and prevent unnecessary extractions. Millions of smiles every year are saved using root canal or endodontic treatment.
Root canal treatment is not what it has been painted out to be. On the contrary, it is a procedure performed under local anesthesia to help alleviate tooth pain while saving your smile.
It would help if you took advantage of the benefits of root canal treatment, but before diving into that, let’s find out what a typical root canal treatment entails.
What Is a Root Canal?
A root canal treatment is an endodontic treatment designed to deal with a tooth’s diseased, damaged, decaying, or infected pulp section.
The pulp section lies beneath the enamel and dentin layer and holds all the blood vessels, connective tissue, and nerve endings. The pulp is fundamental during the growth and development of a tooth. However, once a tooth has developed, it can continue to survive without as it gets its nourishment from the surrounding tissues.
Our dentist performs root canal therapy by removing the diseased, damaged, infected, or inflamed pulp. This is done to prevent a structurally sound but infected tooth from having to be extracted.
The root canal procedure can be executed within 2 to 3 dental visits depending on the procedure’s complexity and the affected tooth’s anatomy.
For instance, if the affected tooth is an upper first molar, it has three to five canals instead of a lower first premolar with one canal. Working on an upper first molar will require more visits than a lower first premolar.
Ideally, when you undergo a root canal, the infected, damaged, or inflamed pulp is removed, and the tooth’s canal is cleaned and disinfected before being sealed and filled up.
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Phases of Root Canal Treatment
A root canal treatment will often involve the following phases:
- Phase 1: Diagnosis
In this step, the endodontist will examine the affected tooth to see the extent of the infection or damage and develop a customized treatment plan. This step is fundamental to establish whether the affected tooth is structurally stable and can undergo the procedure and check whether the infection has spread to the surrounding bone.
- Phase 2: Removing the Affected Pulp Section
In this phase, our dentist will remove the affected pulp. The endodontist will administer local anesthesia to ensure that your procedure is pain-free and comfortable as possible.
Then an opening is made on the crown of the affected tooth to gain access to the canal. After accessing the pulp, the endodontist will use various instruments to clean up the pulp from the root canal and shape up the space left behind in preparation for the filling process.
The root canal must be cleaned up properly and all decayed tissue and bacteria removed to prevent reinfection.
If the infection is severe, the endodontist may decide to put in some antibiotics and cover the tooth using a temporary filling until all signs of the infection are cleared out before proceeding to the next phase.
- Phase 3: Filling and Sealing the Root Canal
When it has been ascertained that all signs of infection have cleared out, the next phase of the treatment will begin. In this phase, the space left after the pulp removal is filled with a rubbery substance known as gutta-percha. The opening made earlier to access the pulp is sealed with a temporary filling.
- Phase 4: Restoration of the Affected Tooth
The tooth, at this point, is ready to undergo restoration. The temporary filling will be removed and replaced with a crown at the final stage to reinforce the tooth and restore its functionality structurally.
When Do You Need Root Canal Treatment?
You must undergo root canal treatment if your pulp has been damaged, infected, or inflamed. The symptoms indicating that you need root canal treatment may include:
- A loose tooth
- Pain when chewing or biting
- Tooth sensitivity
- A darkening tooth
- Pus oozing from a tooth
- A persistent toothache
- Swollen gum around the affected tooth
Benefits of Getting a Root Canal at the Center for Oral Health
Several benefits of root canal treatment may include:
- Prevents unnecessary tooth loss through extractions
- Alleviates tooth pain and sensitivity
- It’s a pain-free procedure
- Improves your oral and overall health
- It prevents the spread of infection to the jawbone and the neighboring teeth
Do not hesitate to contact us at the Center for Oral Health today if you need to undergo a root canal treatment in San Diego.