What is a Root Canal Treatment?
A root canal treatment is a dental procedure used to remove inflamed or infected pulp from inside the tooth. The tooth is then carefully cleaned, disinfected, filled, and sealed.
Root canal treatment is usually completed in three steps and may take between one and three appointments.
Root Canal Treatment Process
First Appointment: Cleaning the Root Canal
The dentist removes everything inside the root canal.
A small access hole is made on the surface of the tooth. Then, the diseased and dead pulp tissue is removed using very small files.
Second Appointment: Filling the Root Canal
The dentist cleans, shapes, and decontaminates the hollow area using tiny files and irrigation solutions.
The tooth is then filled with a rubber-like material and sealed using adhesive cement to completely close the canals.
Third Appointment: Adding a Crown or Filling
A tooth without pulp no longer receives nourishment from the ligament that attaches the tooth to the bone.
Over time, the tooth may become more brittle, so a crown or filling is placed to protect it.
Important Note
Treatment often takes only one appointment. However, if there are curved canals, multiple canals, or large infections, one or two additional appointments may be required.
Do I need a Root Canal?
Root canal treatment is a treatment is used to repair and save a tooth that is badly decayed or infected.
Root canal treatment is performed when the pulp which is composed of nerves and blood vessels in the tooth becomes infected or damaged. During root canal treatment, the pulp is removed, and the inside of the tooth is cleaned and sealed.
What is a post crown?
A post and crown is a combination of a post (that extends down into the root canal treated tooth and then a crown.
There is actually a third element called the 'core'. Sometimes, the dentist will refer to it as a post, core and crown, and generally the cost will be added on top of the cost of root canal treatment.
There are always these three elements, it's just that sometimes the core is incorporated into the post (custom made) and at other times, it is built up on top of the post, in filling material. This happens after the post has been cemented. The latter is much more common nowadays.
A post crown always requires a root canal to have been completed before it can be carried out. That's because the post extends deep down into the root canal of the tooth in order to get extra grip for the core and the tooth is fragile after the root canal is complete and the dental crown is to protect the remaining dentine of the whole tooth.
