Root Canal Therapy Procedure Explained : Part 1

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Just hearing the sentence, “You need a root canal.”, is enough to make many people cringe and go into an instant panic. This is very common and understandable for the term “root canal” sounds like a rather barbaric procedure and not something from modern dentistry. The fact is, the root canal therapy procedure itself is rather painless and many patients are left feeling so relieved because their tooth finally does not hurt anymore. No more pacing the floor at 3:00AM or having a huge lump on the side of their face as if they are sucking on a Jawbreaker candy.

Root canal therapy is also an important procedure needed to save a tooth that has become abscessed. If the root canal is not performed, the only alternative is to extract the tooth, because once the tooth has abscessed, (becomes infected), the tooth will not heal on its own.

A common misconception when people hear the term, “root canal”, is that the dentist or endodontist, (root canal specialist), will actually remove the roots of the tooth. This is not the case. The tooth and roots remain as they are. The dentist or endodontist is only working on the inside of the tooth, removing debris, bacteria, and infection.


The following are the steps involved in a root canal therapy procedure:

Step 1: Numbing the tooth
After the tooth has been diagnosed that root canal treatment is needed and the infection is under control enough that the procedure can safely begin, the dentist or endodontist, (root canal specialist) will take a look at the x-ray and then begin the procedure.

A cotton swab is placed at the injection site. The cotton swab has a flavored gel on the end that contains a numbing agent. This will numb the gum tissue so that the patient will not feel the needle. This is left in the mouth for a few minutes for the gel to take effect. The cotton swab is then removed and the patient is given the injection to numb the area. The numbness will generally last about 2 hours.

Step 2: Gaining Access to the Nerve
Once the area is completely numb, the dentist or endodontist will drill a small hole in the top of the tooth and down through the layers until the inside of the tooth is reached. The dentist will then take another type of slower moving drill or what are known as Endodontic files, (they look like small metal toothpicks with jagged edges), to further open the inside of the tooth so the dentist can work his way down to the tips of the inside of the roots. To see and understand what the inside of your tooth looks like, please refer to my tooth anatomy article.

Step 3: Cleaning the Inside of the Tooth
Now that the dentist or endodontist has gained access to the inside of the tooth, it is time to clean the inside of the tooth of any debris, infected tissue, and bacteria. This is the part of the procedure where the pulp, (nerve), in the tooth is removed. The bacteria, debris, infection, and the pulp are removed with what are referred to as paper points. Paper points look just like a toothpick, but are smaller and made of tightly rolled absorbent paper. These paper points soak up the infection and bacteria as well as helping to remove debris. The dentist or endodontist will alternate between paper points and endodontic files, opening the canals wider and cleaning out the inside of the tooth. The inside of the tooth is often washed out with saline solution as well.

Check back tomorrow for I will discuss the last 2 steps of the root canal therapy procedure.