Restorative Care
Root Canals
What is Root Canal Therapy?
Root Canal Therapy (Endodontics) is a common procedure for saving teeth.
It involves locating the small canals in a tooth which house the nerves and blood vessels of the tooth. Once located, the canals are cleaned, sterilized and sealed to prevent bacteria from reentering this space.
Reasons why a dentist may recommend Root Canal Therapy
Infected Tooth (a tooth can infect for many reasons)
- tooth decay that has extended to or close to the nerve/blood vessels of the tooth
- bacteria that reaches the nerve/blood vessels via a crack in the tooth
- following trauma, a tooth can infect within days, or years later
- teeth that have received extensive treatment in the past are subject to infection
- occasionally teeth will die and infect for no known reason
Broken Tooth
- tooth breaks in such a manner that exposes the nerve/blood vessels of the tooth
- tooth breaks in such a manner that the tooth will require a post to allow a restoration to be successfully placed and retained (root canal therapy is required before all post placement, because the post is cemented into one of the canal spaces)
Denture Attachments
- root canal therapy is often completed so that precision denture attachments can be placed within teeth to anchor a denture securely in a patient's mouth
- the photo shows a model of a lower overdenture that will snap into place using the precision attachments placed into the lower canines following root canal therapy
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