An untreated cavity may lead to tooth loss without timely dentist intervention. Root canal treatment may be the required solution for a severely decayed tooth.
Your tooth contains pulp found at its centre and in canals within each tooth root. The pulp consists of connective tissue, nerves and blood vessels which nourish a tooth when it erupts or emerges through the gum. Once your tooth matures, it also gets nourishment from the blood supply that surrounds it. This allows the tooth to remain standing even when the pulp is removed due to infection.
Pulp infection may be due to:
- an untreated cavity
- trauma
- fracture or
- extensive restoration work
A root canal treatment is the best option to prevent infection from damaging the bone around the tooth and spreading to other parts of your body. Here’s how it’s done:
- The area around the tooth is numbed before your dentist removes some of the diseased pulp
- The canals are then measured and the pulp completely removed using specially designed instruments
- The canals are then cleaned with an antiseptic solution
- The canals are filled up and covered with a temporary filling which is eventually replaced by a permanent filling
- The crown of the tooth is restored shortly afterwards to prevent damage to the tooth.
You are most likely not going to feel pain during the entire procedure because modern Gold Coast dental and root canal treatments use numbing gels and modern anaesthetic injection systems that make injections painless.
