Dental canal treatment is one of the most complex procedures in dentistry, which is de alt with in medicine by a special branch - endodontics. The purpose of this procedure is to treat the inner region of the tooth and root canals hidden from the eye, occupied by the pulp, that is, soft tissue that includes nerve fibers along with blood and lymphatic vessels, as well as connective tissues.
How are they treated?
Dental root canal treatment involves the removal of pulp from the root canals and a thorough filling. In addition, the need to invade the dental canals may be dictated by the presence of periodontitis (it is an inflammatory process that affects the bone tissue near the upper region of the tooth roots). The condition is characterized when the tooth canal is inflamed, with a sharp pain that occurs on its own, and not in response to some kind of stimulus.
Examination
Inspection of the dental canal relies on the samecarried out in preparation for prosthetics. The service life of a native tooth after therapy largely depends on the basic quality of canal filling. In the event that, for example, the crown is changed and, if necessary, redone, then an insufficiently cured canal may lead to tooth loss.
Treatment regimen
Modern root canal treatment involves a choice of different methods. True, each of them is not complete without the use of a rubber dam by a doctor, which ensures perfect safety and sterility. And to control the filling after the dental canal is treated, an x-ray is taken. A typical scheme for root canal therapy looks something like this:
- Cleaning the canals of the tooth.
- Formation and expansion of channels.
- Dental root canal treatment.
- Performing a filling.
Now let's talk in detail about the stages of treatment.
Treatment steps
All stages of root canal treatment are usually accompanied by anesthesia. After cleansing the pulp chamber, it is filled with medicine with channels. After that, the tooth is restored (a composite is used along with a ceramic overlay) or a crown is installed. The procedure of treatment and filling can rightly be compared with the performance of microsurgery. After all, the operation is carried out on a small area, and at the same time everything is done with a rather poor view for the doctor, which requires high professionalism and precision from the dentist.
But well-executedendodontic treatment (that is, root canal therapy) helps to preserve, and at the same time actually saves even severely damaged teeth, and, in addition, prevents bone and soft tissue diseases. Root canal treatment can be primary or secondary. Secondary is performed in difficult cases of endodontics or immediately after an unsuccessful first intervention.
Planning Therapy
After examining the condition of the dental canal, the doctor must draw up a basic treatment plan and decide on the choice of methods. To get to the problem channels, the doctor needs to open the pulp chamber, clearing the way for the instruments. Next, pulps with decay products are removed. The next step is to determine the length of the canal along with preparation for its filling. An x-ray or the use of a special device called an apex locator helps to cope with this task.
After the pulp is removed, the body will no longer be able to cope with the microscopic organisms that live in the pockets of the channels. In this regard, in order to avoid a new inflammatory process, it is important that no voids remain. After all, it is simply impossible to completely remove all organisms from the channels, but you can prevent them from causing new problems.
Thus, competent filling is a particularly crucial moment. For this, hardening materials are used along with non-hardening and solid elements. The filler, as a rule, has a complex set of tasks. He must blockchannel, be durable and not cause irritation. In addition, it must be permeable to x-rays.
Materials
Material for filling, as a rule, is selected by a doctor. Since only a specialist knows what is best suited in a given situation. Each variant of the therapeutic filler has its own characteristics, so if several materials are suitable, the doctor will explain the pros and cons of each and offer them to his patient to choose from. Next, we will continue the topic of treatment and discuss filling methods.
Filling techniques
The classic way of high-quality filling of dental canals involves filling them with a special latex-like material called gutta-percha. There are only a few filling methods using this material. We are talking about thermafil, lateral condensation and thermogutta-percha.
Thermafil, along with lateral lateral condensation, is used exclusively on roots accessible for dental work. But hot thermogutta-percha, which is a warm moving mass, can also fill the main channel with microchannels that the instruments cannot reach. When solidified, this material blocks all microcracks with pores, so microorganisms are guaranteed to no longer multiply in them. Actually, filling the canals of the tooth with hot thermogutta-percha is the most modern and progressive method. The filling time of the root canal is, as a rule, of the order of twohours.
The indicator of the success of the therapy of the canal of the tooth is the restoration of the working capacity of its root. In the event that the root is in order, then you can work on the tooth further, for example, perform a restoration.
Maybe pull out a tooth?
The question often arises as to whether it would not be easier not to bother with treatment, but to pull out a tooth immediately, after which put a prosthesis? I must say that it is not at all easier. After all, the root is the basis of the tooth, which can serve as the foundation for prosthetics. Therefore, root and canal therapy should be taken seriously. The root is a complex sector of treatment (it’s hard to even see it). In addition, the root canals of the teeth differ in their individual structure, they branch, so it is not at all easy to process them. Therefore, the procedure for pulpitis therapy should be carried out only in professional clinics, where qualified and trained dentists work.
Next, let's take a closer look at how the channels are cleaned and what is the sequence of actions when performing this procedure.
Duct cleaning
The whole process of cleaning the dental canals consists of the following several steps:
- Passing a check-up with a doctor and performing an X-ray of the tooth. Dental canals come in different lengths and have different directions. In this regard, x-rays are a mandatory part of the procedure. The picture allows the doctor to see where and how the channels are located, which makes it possible for him to effectively carry outcleaning.
- Performing anesthesia. Anesthetic drugs are usually given by injection topically. Pain relief allows the patient to easily tolerate the procedure.
- Tooth isolation. With the help of a special rubber lining, the unhe althy tooth is isolated. This is required so that the disinfectant solution does not penetrate the oral cavity, as it can strongly irritate the mucous membrane and can cause burns. In addition, a rubber pad is required in order to prevent saliva from entering the cleaned canal. Saliva can contain a large number of all kinds of bacteria, whose entry into the channels can cause inflammation. How to clean the dental canals is interesting to many.
- Opening access. The dentist reams the tooth in order to open access to the canals. This is usually done in a place that is affected by caries. Using special tools, the doctor cleans the canal cavity. The doctor seems to be screwing the file into the diseased canal, and then carefully removes it. This makes it possible to remove the affected pulp from the canal. With each subsequent time, the dentist takes instruments of an even larger diameter. Cleaning is carried out until the canal is cleared of soft tissues.
- Perform dry cleaning. After mechanical cleaning with the help of files, particles of pulp with bacteria remain in the canal, therefore, for the purpose of complete cleansing, the so-called dry cleaning is used. A special composition, which is used to treat the cavity of the tooth, neutralizes the organisms, dissolving the remnants of the pulp. ATmodern clinics use ultrasonic instruments as part of disinfection. They create vortex vibrations in the tooth cavity, thanks to which the solution penetrates into the most secluded places.
- Performing filling. After dry cleaning, the canals of the tooth are sealed. For fillings, modern materials are used that do not cause allergic reactions, and besides, they are durable. The choice of material is made by the dentist, based on the characteristics of the patient. Sometimes pins are installed instead of a seal.
- Re-X-ray. This is necessary so that the doctor can make sure that the canal cavity is completely sealed. Otherwise, the risk of complications increases.
- Performing a tooth filling. As part of the last stage, the tooth cavity is closed with a filling.
Complications
Sometimes there is a toothache after root canal treatment, is this normal?
Teeth may become sensitive after root canal therapy is completed. Especially if the pain was even before going to the doctor and the procedure. It's not scary. The fact is that the body reacts in this way to a foreign body. But over time, he will safely get used to it, after which the pain will certainly pass. It is only necessary to perform high-quality dental hygiene, temporarily not loading them and following the doctor's instructions. Otherwise, apart from excessive sensitivity, there are usually no more serious complications.
The main thing is not to forget that canal treatment helps to save relativeshuman teeth, which greatly increases their service life. And in the future, if necessary, a timely treated canal will allow quite successful prosthetics to be carried out on this high-quality foundation.
We looked at how root canals are treated.
