Some teeth decay with time. Some get infected. At times, it is possible to salvage them with root canal therapy or endodontic treatment. With this, the injured, fractured or infected tooth or teeth are not extracted, but with a certain treatment, their functionality is restored.

What is root canal therapy?

Via this treatment, the pulp tissue, blood vessels and nerves inside the dental cavity are removed. Since these are infected, one has to disinfect the cavity after that to remove all signs of infection and germs. This cavity is then filled up with a substance like a gutta percha. After filling, the cavity is sealed off to the outside environment. The function of the tooth or teeth is fully restored without any tooth or teeth extraction and replacement with dentures or dental implants.

When is root canal treatment not possible?

Sometimes the tooth or teeth are so badly damaged or infected that they cannot be salvaged. If the tooth or teeth are severely broken or if the infection has damaged the tooth enamel and dentine, then it may be difficult to retrieve them. If the infection is only in the pulp cavity, then it is possible to replace it with gutta-percha and seal it off and have the tooth restored.

What is the difference between root canal treatment and dentures?

In root canal treatment, the original tooth or teeth are not extracted. Sometimes, a dental crown may be placed atop the injured tooth or teeth. At other times, it is just the pulp or the mass of nerves, blood vessels and other cellular substances which are removed and replaced with a material like a gutta percha. Indentures, the tooth or teeth are extracted. Their duplicates are custom-made as per individual specifications, and then these are fit into the gums as teeth replicas. The dentures can be a tooth or a set of teeth as the case may be.

How is a person’s smile restored with endodontic treatment?

A person does not have to go through tooth or teeth extraction in endodontic treatment. This is very good news that a person’s natural tooth or teeth are not lost to them. They are just restored with root canal therapy. Dental implants are a very complicated procedure in which titanium screws are drilled into the jaw bone and a dental crown placed atop them to function as the tooth or teeth. This procedure is not easy for the patient since it involves surgical conditions.Thus, if the tooth or teeth can be restored with root canal therapy, one should go ahead with it and not opt for dentures or dental implants. Though, if the condition of the tooth or teeth is just not good and it is beyond the point of being salvaged, there is no option left other than dentures or dental implants. Root canal therapy or endodontic treatment will not work in such cases.For more details, contact: 875 N. Greenfield Road, Suite 114 Gilbert, AZ 85234Contact: (480) 420-3930.

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