Root canal treatment

Valeria Dahm is a freelance writer in the medical department. She studied medicine at the Technical University of Munich. It is particularly important to her to give the curious reader an insight into the exciting subject area of ​​medicine and at the same time to maintain the content.

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With root canal treatment (tooth root treatment, root canal treatment) the inside of the tooth is removed and filled with sterile material. In this way, a tooth can be preserved when it actually needs to be extracted - for example because tooth pulp (pulp) and tooth roots are severely inflamed or even dead. Read more about root canal treatment here: procedure, duration and possible risks.

What is a root canal treatment?

Root canal treatment is tooth-conserving therapy when the inside of the tooth (pulp) is either irreversibly inflamed or dead (avital, devital). The tooth is hollowed out and filled with sterile material. This stabilizes it and prevents further bacteria from entering. Since the tooth is no longer supplied with blood, it becomes viable and brittle, so that an additional crown is often necessary.

When do you have a root canal treatment?

Tooth pain and inflammation due to tooth decay are the most common reasons for a root canal treatment. The germs can spread to the pulp, in which the nerves and blood vessels run. If the blood vessels expand as a result of the inflammation, they press on the tooth nerve. The tooth hurts badly and is often very sensitive to cold or hot food and drinks. If the bacteria penetrate to the tip of the root - the most inner part of the tooth - they can spread to the bones and soft tissues of the face from here. In the worst case, the bacteria migrate throughout the body via the blood. In such cases or to prevent this, a root canal treatment is carried out if possible. The alternative to root canal treatment is surgical tooth preservation (root tip resection) or tooth extraction.

Root canal treatment is also often performed on broken teeth to prevent inflammation.

Another area of ​​application is dead teeth. They can be obtained with the help of root canal treatment in many cases.

What does a root canal treatment do?

Before the actual root canal treatment, the dentist asks about your symptoms and any previous illnesses. He will examine your teeth and then explain the risks and the procedure of the root canal treatment to you:

First, the affected tooth is anesthetized, as the root canal treatment is often painful. However, this is not the case with a dead tooth: Here the root canal treatment can be carried out without anesthesia. In most cases, the tooth is then wrapped in a kind of rubber bandage - a so-called rubber dam - so that it is protected from blood and saliva.

The doctor then carefully drills the tooth and inserts special measuring needles into the root canals. In combination with an X-ray, he can determine the length of the canals. The doctor then removes the inflamed or dead pulp with the help of small, flexible files of various sizes. He then rinses the entire root canal system thoroughly and uses a special laser to intensify the disinfection.

Only when the tooth is germ-free does the doctor fill the cleaned and drilled canal system with a root filling. A crown also stabilizes and seals the tooth.

Root canal treatment: duration

Many patients want to know: How long does a root canal treatment take? Dentists cannot give a clear answer to this: the duration of a root canal treatment depends on the patient, the course of the procedure and any complications. Which tooth it is also plays a role: the treatment of a molar tooth usually takes more time than the root canal treatment of an incisor due to the restricted view and the reduced space. If there is a pronounced infection, it must be treated in several sessions. Special medicamentous inserts are supposed to kill the bacteria between the procedures.

What are the risks of a root canal treatment?

Pain and swelling are common side effects of a root canal treatment. There are also other general and specific risks. These include:

• Infections
• Bleeding
• Injury to muscles, bones and nerves
• Damage to surrounding teeth
• Loss of the operated tooth
• Opening of the maxillary sinus

In rare cases the canal system is so curved or branched that the doctor cannot clean it sufficiently. If the tooth becomes inflamed again due to remaining bacteria, this requires renewed root treatment: the crown and fillings are then removed, the canals disinfected again and finally refilled (revision of the root treatment).

Various metabolic products or iron deposits from the blood can cause the tooth to turn dark. The discoloration has no disease value, but can be cosmetically disturbing. Then the dentist can whiten the tooth.

What do I have to consider after a root canal treatment?

As long as the anesthetic is still working, you should not eat anything or participate in road traffic. In addition, you should not smoke or drink coffee or black tea for the first 24 hours after the root canal treatment.

The sutures can be pulled seven to ten days after the root canal treatment. After three to six months, the healing of the bone should be checked by x-rays.

Pain after root canal treatment

What happens quite often after a root canal is pain. Cooling relieves pain and prevents swelling and bruising. You can find out where the symptoms come from and what else you can do about it in the article Pain after a root canal treatment.

However, if you feel increasing throbbing pain a few days after the procedure, it may be an inflammation that requires a repeat (revision) of the root canal treatment. In this case, see your doctor as soon as possible.

Root canal treatment: costs

As a rule, the costs of a tooth root treatment are covered by the health insurance companies if the tooth in question is classified as worthy of preservation. However, this is often not the case with the back molars. Even if special techniques are to be used, you often have to pay for the root canal yourself.

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