The most common dental issue for which usually people approach or plan on visiting a dental clinic is for dental caries i.e. decay. Often people experience mild sensitivity to severe pain once a tooth gets decayed that forces them to seek treatment.
One should not get confused between decay and stain present on teeth formed due to consumption of drinks and food which is sticky. The brown, black, or grey spot on the teeth is a sign of a cavity and cannot be removed by brushing. If it is allowed to progress and left undiagnosed, enamel will break down further and gets worsened on reaching the most sensitive part of tooth, pulp which becomes irreversible caries.
Once the decay reaches pulp, that is when patient starts to experience severe pain which can be ranging from intermittent pain on consumption of food only or severe sensitivity on taking hot fluids to severe pain whole day and sleep disturbance. In some instances, severe decay can cause intaoral/extraoral swelling when root is infected.
Root canal treatment(RCT) is indicated for a person diagnosed with irreversible caries i.e. decay affecting pulp of teeth. Diagnosis is done by clinical examination of affected teeth with intraoral radiograph to visualize extent of decay.
No of appointments needed to complete RCT depends on severity of infection and extent of decay. Pulp which is the core or innermost layer of tooth consists of blood vessels, nerves and connective tissue. The treatment is initiated by removing the bacteria and decayed portion of the tooth which involves pulp, root and nerve, followed by disinfecting the area , cleaned, shaped and then filling the empty roots with a biocompatible, radioactive material known as gutta percha which is a rubbery material, then finally sealing the area to prevent decay.
We recommend that once RCT is over, since it involves treating the core of tooth, strength will be reduced which makes the tooth fragile, so as to avoid breakage, it is always better to cover the tooth with a crown. Various options of crown are available from metal colored to metal reinforced ceramic to completely metal free crowns.
