Non-surgical Root Canals
Root canals are one of the most common dental treatments administered. In the United States, there are more than 14 million root canals performed every year. It is an ideal option for those who do not want to go through a tooth extraction. Root canals are performed to save an individual’s natural teeth, which will prevent him or her from having to have dental bridges or dental implants, which can be very costly and take months to complete. The pulp tissue, which is a group of blood vessels, is located at the center of the tooth. Nerves will enter into a tooth through the root canal, which is located at the end of the root. There are times when pulp tissue can become irritated, which can be due to trauma, excessive decay, cracking, or chipping. If an individual has an infection in his or her tooth, then he or she may experience tooth sensitivity, the area surrounding the tooth may swell, and it will be painful to chew.
When you show symptoms of irritation that requires root canal treatment, you may have the option to have a non-surgical treatment that will remove the pulp that is damaged. During this procedure, the pulp tissue is removed and the root canal is cleaned and then sealed to the end of the root. This will be done using a material known as gutta percha. If you have this procedure administered, then you will probably be given a local anesthesia.
What is the Cost of Non-surgical Root Canals?
The cost a non-surgical root canal procedure will vary based on several factors, which include the tooth that is being treated and the extent of the damage. In most circumstances, non-surgical root canals are far less expensive than a tooth extraction and dental implants. Usually, an individual will have post and a crown after root canal treatment.
What Happens After a Non-surgical Root Canal?
In most cases, a tooth that is treated with a non-surgical root canal will not cause any additional trouble. However, there are an estimated 10 to 15% of individuals who receive root canals that will continue to experience symptoms, which may occur months or years after the procedure was performed. The causes can be due to infection of the root canal, re-infection due to contamination, or a tooth fracture. In most cases, teeth that have problems, which will need a root canal treatment, will be in the back of the mouth.
If a problem arises after the root canal treatment, then an individual can have the tooth extracted or have the root canal re-treated. When root canals are re-treated, they will be thoroughly sterilized and sealed. With non-surgical re-treatment of root canals, a dental professional will access the root canal from the top of the tooth and remove the filling material that was used during the previous treatment. If a dental professional is performing surgical re-treatment, then he or she will access the end of the root directly and reseal the root from the bottom. When an individual has a tooth fracture, he or she will not be able to have the tooth re-treated. The tooth will have to be extracted.
Non-surgical versus Surgical Root Canal Treatment
In most cases, if an individual needs to have root canal therapy, then he or she will have a non-surgical root canal.
Non-surgical root canal treatment can be thought of as an extremely deep filling. Although the two procedures are different, non-surgical root canal treatment and fillings share some similarities. A non-surgical root canal is a more complex procedure, but both will begin with drilling into the affected tooth, cleaning, and filling the empty space. With non-surgical root canals, the drilling will go deeper into the tooth as opposed to a filling. This is so a dental professional can access the root canal and properly clean the area. With both treatments, an anesthetic will be administered to make certain an individual is comfortable during the procedure. In both procedures, the hole will be filled to stop the area from being infected.
However, there are instances where the infection is too severe, so a surgical root canal will need to be performed. When this occurs, an small incision will be made in the gum and the canal will be accessed from the side so the area that is infected can be safely taken out.
The majority of root canals are non-surgical because most individuals will see a dental professional as soon as pain starts to surface, so the problem will be able to be treated before it becomes excessive and requires a surgical root canal.
If you feel like you may have a problem that requires a non-surgical root canal, contact us today!