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Root therapy
What is root therapy?
To understand root therapy, you must first understand the basic structure of a tooth.
The tooth has 4 layers –
- Enamel – the hard outer layer of tooth
- Dentine – the softer inner layer of tooth
- Cementum – the hard material that coats the root’s surface
- Pulp Chamber – this tissue contains blood vessels, nerves and connective tissue, needed for early development stages
A fully formed adult tooth can survive without the pulp as it continues to be nourished by the soft tissues surrounding it.
Root therapy (aka root canal treatment) is a process in which the pulp of the tooth is removed due to damage and infection, and replaced with gutta-percha (a plant based thermoplastic).
Damage to a pulp can be caused by dental caries progressing through the layers of the tooth and penetrating the pulp chamber, trauma (fracture/breakage), preparing a tooth too close to the pulp chamber and causing exposure or advanced periodontal disease .
Infection to a pulp is caused by bacteria entering the pulp chamber.
Once a bacterial infection has spread inside the pulp chamber, it multiplies, eventually causing symptoms such as:
- Pain when eating or drinking hot or cold food and drink
- Pain when biting or chewing
- A loose tooth
- A returning pain when biting or chewing
- Swelling of the gum near the affected tooth
- Pus oozing from the affected tooth
- A swollen cheek or jaw
- The tooth becoming a darker colour
For many people, these latter stage symptoms are the first signs of anything being wrong with their tooth, and seek immediate treatment for infection with antibiotics. Although antibiotics help with the infection on a short term basis, they will never truly remove the cause of the infection. The only way to do this is by removal of the dead pulp – root therapy.
Root therapy aftercare
Once a tooth has been root filled, it is important to look after it.
- If you have had local anaesthetic, it may take up to 4-6 hours for the effects to wear off. During this time, please ensure that you refrain from chewing your lip, inner cheek, tongue or soft tissues and drinking hot drinks to avoid unwittingly causing trauma to the area.
- Your mouth has been worked on, so there may naturally be a small amount of tenderness, bruising and sensitivity to the area for a couple of days. If there are still worsening symptoms of pain after 7 days, contact the practice for advice.
- If you do not have a crown fitted, be extra careful on biting and chewing with the tooth. The strength of the tooth structure has been compromised and should be treated with care.
- If you have symptoms of swelling, pain, sensitivity to heat, or abscess around the treated tooth in the subsequent months, contact the practice immediately for advice.
