When you have a root canal scheduled for the first time, you probably feel a bit scared, particularly if you’ve heard horror stories about what others have gone through. But we’re going to go through what you can expect and what will happen during the procedure. This should help you feel a bit better about what is going to happen. One thing that you should know is that root canals do not cause pain. Instead they relieve it. Here is a step by step process of what will happen during a root canal:
Step 1:
Local Anesthesia – You will receive injections to numb your tooth and the area around it. If there’s a lot of inflammation in the pulp and its really painful, it could take time before it numbs. However, the procedure won’t start until you can’t feel it.
Step 2:
Dental Dam – Your dentist will place one of the dental dams over the tooth that’s affected and the teeth around it. This is a sheet made of thin vinyl or rubber. The tooth he or she’s’ working on will come up through a hole that’s punched into the dam, so its isolated from the remainder of your mouth. This is so that your root canal can be done in an environment that’s sterile and free from being contaminated by the bacteria found in your mouth and saliva.
Step 3:
Access Hole Drilled – Once your tooth is isolated with the dental dam, the doctor will drill a small hole in your affected tooth’s surface, or if it’s one of your front teeth, from behind it. This will give them access to the root canals and pulp chamber so it can be treated.
Step 4:
Tissue is Removed – The pulp tissue that’s dead and diseased will be removed from your tooth using instruments that are specially designed for cleaning out the pulp chamber and root canals of teeth. This isn’t painful since your area’s been numbed and that tissue’s dead or it’s dying. After the pulp, together the nerve that it contains, has been removed, you’re not going to feel any pain in the tooth.
Step 5:
Disinfecting – Your canals will be disinfected using antibacterial solutions and antiseptic.
Step 6:
Shaping – Your canals then are shaped using flexible tiny instruments which can receive fillers and fillings for root canals. Your canals are cleaned and washed so that any debris is removed before they’re sealed.
Step 7:
Filling – Fillings for root canals are chosen that are going to fit exactly into those canals that are freshly prepared. Normally a material that is rubber-like known as gutt-percha is used for filling in that canal space. This thermoplastic material is heated up and then put into as well as against your root canal walls so that they’re sealed. Along with a sealer, the space is filled with the gutta-percha. This step is very important to stopping the canal from getting infected again.
Step 8:
Filling Material – Next a filling material that is either permanent or temporary is placed so that the access hole’s sealed and the dam will be removed. If there isn’t enough structure in the tooth so that it can hold the filling, the endodontist or dentist might put a really strong plastic or metal post inside one of your canals for helping to hold it.
Step 9:
Treatment – Once the procedure’s done, you may be given an antibiotic so that infection is treated or prevented. Make sure that you’re following any instructions you’re given very carefully. There usually aren’t very many after effects, and if there are, they usually only last a couple days to a week. You may have a bit of discomfort following your treatment like slight soreness which you can treat with things like ibuprofen or aspirin or stronger medicine, or even a combination of them.
Step 10:
Crown or Filling – After you’ve had a root canal, you’ll need some kind of permanent restoration for your tooth, like a crown or filling, for replacing the tooth structure that was lost and providing a total seal to your tooth’s top. You will be sent back to your dentist if you’ve seen an endodontist or your dentist will discuss which is best for you if they did the root canal. This is a really important step because its been discovered that if a filled root canal gets contaminated again, you could get another infection around your tooth.
What Else to Know
A lot like a plant’s root system, your tooth’s root canals have a lot of side branches along with its main branch. So its whole system will need sealing during a root canal so that it’s going to be successful. Because they’re very small, root canals will need a lot of care and precision when they’re being treated. That’s why most of the endodontists will use the latest technology such as digital imaging for diagnosing problems with them. After the treatment is over, they use them for verifying that the seal was doing properly. They then use ultrasonic instruments for removing old posts and canal fillings and cleaning canals as well as operating microscopes for accurately locating, visualizing and sealing the systems of root canals. It’s really high tech.
Now that you know what you should expect if you ever have to have a root canal done, maybe you won’t be as nervous. Make sure that you ask your dentist or endodontist any questions that you have and bring up any concerns that you have. They’ll be happy to answer your questions and put your concerns to rest.
Contact us today to learn more, or schedule a consultation online.