Devital tooth and root canal treatment

What is a devital tooth?
The root canal is the space between the tooth and its root.

This channel consists of the tooth pulp (dental pulp), which is a branched structure that is located in the center of the tooth.
The root canal contains blood vessels and nerve branches.
Children’s milk teeth must also be devitalized if they are infected.

Symptoms of a tooth to be devitalized

The tooth needs to be devitalized if any of the following symptoms appear:

toothache
This is the most common symptom that occurs in patients.
Toothache is felt especially when chewing or drinking cold or hot drinks and this condition certainly requires dental treatment.
The tooth is sensitive to cold or heat for a few seconds, then the pain gradually subsides.
In addition, tooth pain can also occur when the tooth is touched (with pressure).

color change
If teeth change color, this can be a sign of a tooth to be devitalized.
However, other factors such as aging or tobacco consumption (smoking or chewing) can also be responsible for the discoloration. Therefore, the cause must be determined in order to be able to assess whether there is actually a problem with the tooth.

Unrest at night
The toothache increases so much that it can also keep someone from sleeping. Often toothache can wake the person up and cause frequent sleep disorders.

Radiating pain
In some cases, the pain starts in a tooth, but then spreads to other organs, especially the ear and head. The back teeth are very close to the ears. Therefore, a back tooth on the left side can cause pain that extends into the left ear.

tooth fracture
If you see or feel fractures in a tooth, it can be the problem of a devital tooth.

Why is root canal treatment done??

Root canal treatment is carried out in the following cases:

If the tooth is infected; that is, when the nerve tissue has suffered an infection.
The infection can also lead to tooth necrosis.
When the tooth is broken.
If the tooth was injured.

How is root canal treatment done? The procedure

Examination and stunning: Usually the dentist starts with a jet of water to see if the tooth has died.
If the patient does not feel anything, it means that the nerve is no longer alive and the treatment can be carried out without anesthesia.
If the nerve is still alive, local anesthesia is performed on the tooth and in the surrounding area.
Drilling a tooth: The dentist uses a drill to penetrate the pulp and remove the dead or inflamed tissue.
If he has to work on a front tooth (for example on an incisor tooth), he practices the hole on the back, but if it is a molar, he drills into the tooth from above.

Remove the inner tissue: Different sizes of thin drills are used to remove the tissue from the tooth.
This process can take a long time because the tooth root often has many thin branches and even smaller branches.
During the treatment the cavity is cleaned again and again to remove the dissolved material. When the root canal is cleared, the tooth is disinfected to prevent re-inflammation.

The filling: Then a rubber-like paste is used to fill the cavity, and then seals the created hole.
Gutta-percha (a whitish resin obtained from the dried milk sap of the tree of the same name) is used for the filling.

The crown: After the root canal treatment, the temporary restoration must be removed in order to rebuild and crown the tooth.
For this purpose, a carbon pin is inserted into the tooth canal, which serves to support the reconstruction and the crown.
The crown is designed to protect the tooth and prevent possible fractures, since the remaining tooth is more fragile and can easily break later.

Possible complications

If a tooth hurts in cold after the root canal treatment, you have to consider that the situation is completely different here.
The pain comes from the inside of the tooth and indicates that there is still living tissue in the tooth.
It may be an additional channel that the dentist has not seen. One should consult the dentist to clarify the problem.

Perhaps the canal has not been completely cleared out as it is sometimes difficult to see the canals inside the tooth.
Infected or inflamed tissue particles may also have remained at the base of the tooth. This is a complication of root canal treatment, in which the tooth remains infected and the treatment has to be repeated.
Over time, dental or apical granuloma can develop.

If the dentist does not clean the tooth properly, it may turn black because of residual hemoglobin or other substances used.
After the root canal treatment, the encapsulated tooth can develop caries in the uncovered area just like other teeth.

One of the risks is that the tooth will fall out.
In rare cases, trigeminal neuralgia can occur, which can trigger very severe sudden pain in the face.

Wrong expectations

Root canal treatment is very painful
Fact: It doesn’t hurt as much as you might think.
Advances in dentistry and the use of effective anesthetics reduce the pain of root canal treatment.
The goal of this treatment procedure is to remove the infected pulp, which is the source of the pain.
Sometimes people keep delaying the visit to the dentist, causing a serious infection.
If the cause of the problem is eliminated, the pain will decrease significantly. However, pain can still be felt after the anesthesia wears off.

These symptoms can be alleviated by over-the-counter or prescription pain relievers.

Tooth extraction is a better alternative than root canal treatment
Fact: If a root canal treatment is carried out correctly, the reconstructed tooth can last for many years or even for life.
Most dentists prefer root extraction to tooth extraction because this method can save the tooth.
Since the nerves in the pulp tissue are responsible for pain or sensitivity to cold and heat, you can no longer perceive these sensations after removing the pulp and sealing the canal.

The procedure of root canal treatment requires several visits to a dental clinic
Fact: Most people think that tooth extraction is better because it is faster than having to go to a dental clinic several times for a root canal.
That is not true. If you decide to have an extraction, a dental implant must be made so that the neighboring teeth do not shift.
If an implant has to be adjusted after a tooth extraction, several visits to the dentist are required and the costs are considerably higher.
Root canal treatment usually requires 1-3 visits to the dentist.
The number of visits depends on the condition of the tooth.

Root canal treatment is not suitable for a dead tooth
Fact: A tooth dies if blood flow to the tooth root is interrupted.
This can happen due to trauma or tooth decay. Even though you might think that a dead tooth does not need to be treated because it does not cause pain and is not sensitive to temperature, pulling the tooth or root canal treatment can prevent bacteria from multiplying in the dead tooth and infiltrating the surrounding bones.

Root canal treatment is not very effective
Fact: The success rate with this treatment is almost 95%.
Of course, the dentist’s technical expertise and experience are important factors in ensuring the result.
For a good result, it is important that the root canals in the tooth root are cleaned and sealed.
Some teeth have more than one root and multiple root canals. If the dentist fails to clean and seal all channels, the symptoms persist.

How long does recovery take after root canal treatment??

Root canal treatment is actually the last treatment option offered to the patient in an attempt to avoid tooth extraction.

Normal recovery takes about three or four days if there are no complications.
Ideally, the tooth is a little sensitive, but the patient shouldn’t feel any pain.

Factors that affect recovery

• Condition of the tooth
• Competence of the dentist
• Care after the procedure

Cost of root canal treatment
A root canal treatment at the dentist costs between 100 and 250 euros and can also cost around 500 euros with a crown.

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