Teeth and molars consist of a crown and one or more roots. The crown is the part that is visible. You won’t see the roots. They are anchored in the jaw under your gums. A canal, the root canal, travels through each root. It contains nerve fibres and small blood vessels. This living tissue is also known as pulp. If the tissue is or has been inflamed, the dentist will perform a root canal treatment.
DYour dental tissue can become inflamed due to tooth decay or a leaking filling. A hard blow to your tooth can also be a cause. Bacteria are usually the cause of the inflammation. Sometimes the inflammation does not cause any complaints, but severe pain complaints can also occur. The dentist must remove the inflamed dental tissue or it will die. If the dental tissue is not removed, the inflammation can spread to your jaw bone. As a result, jaw bone around the teeth can be lost. Eventually, so much jaw bone can disappear that the teeth become loose or even fall out.
During a root canal treatment, the dentist removes the inflamed dental tissue. Inflamed dental tissue no longer heals. This is an irreversible process. That is why the dentist removes the inflamed tissue. Root canal treatment is also sometimes known as canal or nerve treatment.
The duration of a root canal treatment depends on the number of root canals. Teeth usually only have one root. Molars often have more. The treatment time therefore varies from half an hour to an hour and a half.
After cleaning of the root canals, you may experience afterpain, which can last for several days. You can suppress the afterpain with a good pain reliever. An antibiotic is usually not necessary.