6 Standard Procedures of a Root Canal Therapy

A root canal therapy involves the following procedures: performing of a dental x-ray of the tooth; isolating the tooth; drilling a hole through the tooth; removing the affected nerve; sealing the inside portion of the tooth; and, performing a filling.

A root canal therapy is performed when these things begin to occur: a tooth decay has invaded tooth; the tooth has been infected due to a tooth decay; a broken tooth has occurred and resulted in the exposure of the nerve; and, lastly, the tooth is dying due to aging or due to any untreated trauma. A root canal can be done in either a single visit or in multiple visits depending on the extent of the trauma or nerve infection. Should you have abscess in the tooth, your dentist will require you to start with antibiotics before he will complete the root canal. Your dentist will have to give you a local anesthesia to 'numb' the tooth. When your tooth has gone numb, then the following procedures are performed:

Performing of a dental x-ray of the tooth

A dental x-ray is performed to display the whole tooth on a film. The dentist will refer to this during the entire procedure.

Isolating the tooth

It is necessary to keep your tooth from your saliva, to maintain its dryness. This is done by employing a rubber dam inside your mouth. A rubber dam is a plastic shield made from either latex or non latex materials. The rubber dam is also an important tool in preventing any chemical solution that is used in disinfecting the tooth from entering the mouth.

Drilling a hole through the tooth

Next step would be be the drilling of a hole through the tooth going to the pulp chamber area to which the nerve is situated.

Removing the affected nerve

Tiny files are used by the dentist to remove the nerve from the tooth. There are files that are used by the hand. Some others are used by connecting them to a rotary instrument, which is a dental hand piece that has a slow movement. At this point, another x-ray might be required to identify the  root length. This is to ensure that the whole nerve will be remove to prevent any toothache and further infection to recur, which might result to a tooth extraction in the future.

Sealing the inside portion of the tooth

After the whole tooth has been cleaned and the entire infected nerve has been removed, the tooth should be dried using a very small absorbent paper point. Once the teeth is completely dried out, a rubber material called 'gutta percha' is placed into the tooth to seal its inside portion.

Performing a filling

Once any remaining decay of the tooth has been removed, a filling either temporary or permanent one is performed. If  an endodontist, a dentist specializing in root canals, performed the root canal therapy, then he would normally make a temporary filling. Your general dentist, on the other hand, will do the permanent restoration which might include a recommendation to put a crown on your tooth to prevent it from cracking in the long run.

Now that you have an idea of the expected things to transpire during a root canal therapy, then it's time to choose a dentist to perform these dental procedures. The most suitable dental expert should be one whose dental clinic is quite accessible from your place. A Grand Rapids dentist would be most fitting if you are residing in Michigan. Choosing a dentist whose location is within your vicinity is a very wise and good decision. Although, the location is not the only basis for choosing a dental expert.