Root Canals

Root canal therapy, (“endodontic treatment”) is a procedure in which access to the hollow interior of the tooth (the “pulp”) is made, in order to remove inflamed, infected or necrotic (dead) nerve and blood vessel tissue. The root canals are disinfected, enlarged and hermetically sealed to the root tips with a rubbery filling material. Finally, the access hole into the tooth is filled with any of the available filling materials like silver amalgam, composite resin, porcelain or gold (often at a separate appointment).

Your dentist may recommend that the tooth be crowned following endodontic treatment, especially if it has multiple cusps or multiple roots, and is structurally compromised. Normally the front six teeth in both jaws only have single roots, and many times those teeth don’t need to be crowned after endodontic treatment.

The information on this page was referenced from the following site: ToothIQ