Root canal treatment / cutting off the tip of the tooth root

Root canal treatment clears infection from inside a tooth. At the center of every tooth is the pulp, the soft tissue that carries its nerve and blood supply, held in the pulp chamber and running down the root canals. When decay reaches it, or when the tooth is fractured, the pulp becomes inflamed or infected, and the tooth aches and the area may swell. The treatment removes that tissue so the tooth can be kept rather than extracted.

When root canal treatment is needed

The usual signs are pain that lingers after something hot or cold, pain on biting, tenderness in the gum beside the tooth, or swelling. A tooth can also lose its pulp quietly after an injury, without pain, and be found on examination or on an X-ray. Left alone, the infection passes through the end of the root into the bone around it.

How the treatment works

The tooth is numbed and an opening is made through the crown into the pulp chamber. The infected pulp is removed, and the root canals are cleaned, shaped and disinfected along their length. Once they are free of infection they are filled and sealed and the opening is closed. Because a treated tooth has lost tissue and is more brittle, it is usually restored with a crown afterward, particularly a back tooth, which takes the heavier chewing forces.

Cutting off the tip of the tooth root

Where infection persists at the end of a root after conventional treatment, the tip of the root can be removed surgically, along with the inflamed tissue around it, and the end of the canal sealed. It is used when treating the tooth again through the crown is not possible, or has not resolved the problem.

Recovery and aftercare

The tooth is often tender to bite on for a few days while the tissue around the root settles. Chewing hard on it is best avoided until the permanent restoration is in place, since a tooth left unrestored can fracture. Once restored it is cleaned like any other tooth, and it can still decay at its margins.