Endodoncia

ENDODONCIA

ROOT CANAL TREATMENT

With the aim of giving your teeth a second chance and relieving acute pain, root canal treatment plays a very important role as it provides a conservative alternative (the possibility of keeping your tooth), with a success rate of around 97%, always under individual evaluation, and as part of a comprehensive or multidisciplinary treatment plan to achieve definitive success (final restoration, prosthesis, occlusal analysis, etc.).

What does the treatment involve?

Root canal treatment, or endodontics, consists of removing the affected pulp tissue (nerve) using various manual and/or mechanical techniques, in one or more painless sessions. It is then disinfected through a meticulous irrigation system and subsequently filled with a biocompatible material (gutta-percha – an inert material obtained from the tree of the same name) to seal it and prevent reinfection.

In this way, the tooth, its aesthetics, and chewing function are preserved, without the need to extract the affected tooth.

  • You keep your teeth in your mouth.

What happens if I do NOT get a root canal treatment?

When bacteria have already reached the nerve, if it is not cleaned, they persist inside the canal and can migrate to infect the bone, causing swelling, abscess, fistula… If left untreated, the “cyst” grows and can affect the neighboring roots, leading to the loss of all affected teeth along with the surrounding bone.

Most common causes

Most of the time, the main cause is tooth decay not treated in time. This is followed by periodontal infections, trauma, and severe wear.

A cavity diagnosed in time is treated with a simple filling/restoration, but if the cavity progresses, bacteria colonize the nerve and then it can only be saved through a root canal treatment.

For this reason, and since its early diagnosis and treatment are straightforward, our team works daily to create individualized prevention plans, check-up visits, and personalized monitoring and follow-up.

What are its symptoms?

The aforementioned lesions lead to pulp infection, causing intermittent or constant pain of varying intensity, which is usually accompanied by:

  • Sensitivity to cold (initially) and to heat (in more advanced infections);
  • Discomfort when chewing;
  • Changes in tooth coloration (it darkens);
  • Swelling and/or fistulas.