Root Canals in Tijuana
A root canal in general terms, is the elimination of the nerve that is in charge of the vitality and sensibility of the tooth, this nerve is located in the chamber where the pulp is, as well as where the conduits reside.
To understand a root canal procedure or a conduit treatment, it is important to have the knowledge of the importance of the structure that forms a tooth.
ENAMEL Is the most resistant layer of the Tooth.
DENTIN Is the second layer that holds the pulp chamber in which the nerve resides.
CONDUITS Is where you will find the conduits which house the nerves in the tooth.
THE MAIN CAUSES OF WHY WE NEED A ROOT CANAL
DENTAL CAVITIES:
A cavity provokes a reaction to the tooth that starts to demineralize the Enamel, which is the strongest part of a tooth; once that layer is compromised and perforated by the demineralized cavity, it then starts to attack the second layer of protection, the Dentine. This layer is where you feel sensitivity to hot and cold once there is contact. On occasion the damage can be so severe that the demineralization causes fractures around the affected tooth, hence causing intense pain. This also in turn affects the nerve as it causes inflammation.
EXTENSIVE RESTORATIONS:
Dental restorations that have been treated for extensive periods of time are also one of the main causes of nerve damage, this on occasion is due to the depth of the cavity and the size, causing a reaction of contraction that ultimately becomes necrotic, (nerve dies) giving way to the accumulation of bacteria that feeds off of a necrotic nerve that in turn gives off intense pain and inflammation, thus causing an infection.
DENTAL FRACTURES:
Fractures are most common in persons who have large cavities that do not treat the affected tooth/molar. This causes the tooth to become weak due to the grade in which the tooth has come to. The tooth/molar may fracture further simply by biting something soft.
Other causes of fractures may be car accidents, home accidents, sports, or just simply falling down and hitting your mouth. In which any type of fracture to one’s tooth/molar will cause intense pain due to the exposer of the nerve, nonetheless there are cases where the fracture may be fixed with either a large filling and or a crown. Ultimately an x ray will determine the severity of the fracture that in turn will be vital in making the decision on what treatment will be best for that person in particular.
CONSEQUENCES OF A DAMAGED NERVE:
Spontaneous pain, sensibility to hot and cold, inflammation, discomfort around the gum where the affected tooth is, change in color of the tooth. Although sometimes a person will not have any or some of these symptoms.
If you feel any of these symptoms, give us a Call! With the majority of cases we can apply our treatments without any pain.
ROOT CANAL TREATMENT PROCEDURE:
The first step in the treatment of a root canal is an adequate diagnosis to determine just how big the problem may be, so that the Specialist can make the necessary preoperative evaluation, as well as postoperative instruction.
Once the diagnosis is done and a treatment plan is in place, The Specialist will then begin to open the conduits of the tooth/molar.
ANESTHESIA:
It is important to know that the only area where the local anesthesia will be administered is where the root canal will be performed, assuring that the procedure is pain FREE.
ELIMANATION OF THE AFFECTED AREA:
Once the patient has the anesthesia administered and the affected area has been treated, the specialist will then begin to clean the affected tooth, assuring that the area is thoroughly free of any bacteria and contamination.
ACCESS TO THE PULPAR CAMERA:
To treat a root canal it is necessary to access the pulpar camera; this is where the nerve to the tooth is located. The only way to treat it, is with a hand piece (Dental Instrument) which allows the specialist to make a precise cut into the affected tooth as to avoid any unnecessary damage to the affected tooth.
CLEANING THE CONDUITS:
Once the specialist has access to the pulpar camera (nerve housing), the nerve is then removed from its housing. Once the nerve is removed and the housing,and is clean, the specialist will have a clear view of the conduits.Once the conduits are visible, the specialist will begin to utilize the special files that are designed specifically according to the width of the conduits being treated.
A root canal is anesthetized with local anesthesia, in which means that the procedure is pain FREE. Once the affected tooth has been anesthetized, the specialist will remove the contaminated tissue from the cavity and then make access to the nerve or nerves, depending on if it is a tooth or molar; (molars have more than 1 conduit/nerve and roots).
Once the affected nerve/nerves have been eliminated, the root canal Specialist will then flush out the conduits with a solution to disinfect and free the conduits of any bacteria, assuring that the area has been thoroughly clean and the treatment has been successfully done.
Once the conduit or conduits have been cleaned and free of bacteria and contaminants, the Specialist will replace the nerve with a synthetic bio-compatible instrument called; Gutta-percha.
A root canal debilitates a tooth and will make it more prone to fractures. This is why majority of the time, a pre-fabricated post (glass fiber) or (metal post) is placed in the conduit as support to give the tooth stability and structure.
There are 2 types of posts.
1 is the glass fiber pre-fabricated post, It consists of a small bar that already has a predetermined shape and size. This type of post can be metallic or fiberglass.
2 The other is a metal post which is more common when the cavity that was removed is larger than normal and only the walls of the tooth are left. The metal post requires an impression to be taken, and a glass fiber does not. The specialist will determine which is best depending on the individual patient.
PREPERATION OF A CROWN OVER A ROOT CANAL TREATED TOOTH:
It is very important to place a crown over a tooth that has had a root canal procedure done, by doing this, we are adding extra protection to the tooth assuring that the tooth is functional for a long time.
The material of which the crown is made up of varies. Porcelain fused to metal is one, the other is zirconia. The patient will choose the material at the time after the post and the core build up is complete.
DOES A ROOT CANAL HURT?
The majority of people associate having a root canal treatment with a lot of pain and discomfort. On the contrary, a root canal treatment is done under local anesthesia, with the specialist assuring that the affected area is totally asleep.*anesthetized-.
The current and modern practices of local anesthesia allow these procedures to be fast and pain FREE. It also gives the patient an excellent opportunity to save the natural tooth.
On occasions there are some patients that have a root canal treatment done that feel some type of sensitivity during the treatment process, this would most likely be due to the patient having an infection. Infections are not part of the nervous system, so therefore it is not possible to anesthetize an infection.
I HAVE NO PAIN, WHY DO I NEED A ROOT CANAL??
It is important to have a thorough evaluation before any type of dental treatment is performed to insure the dental health of the patient.
On occasions the nerve of the tooth looks affected, even though there isn’t any fracture. At this time the nerve then will detach from the nervous system and the nerve becomes necrosis (nerve dies), in turn it will not have symptoms for an undetermined time. Nonetheless with time this can produce severe infections, spontaneous pain, and inflammation from the infectious gases which it can produce.
It is common for a root canal Specialist to recommend or to encourage a root canal even though the patient may not present any pain, or infection on the tooth. This can be due to the specialist discovering necrosis without pain, a large restoration, or that the cavity may be too close to the nerve of the tooth. This can produce consequences on a short term basis.
WHY DO ROOT CANALS HAVE DIFFERENT PRICING?
The price of a Root Canal can vary depending on the complexity or the number of conduits that need to be treated to the affected tooth. A tooth can have from 1 to 4 conduits that may need treatment.
The most expensive root canal treatment is a Retreatment Root Canal, this is due to having to remove the instruments and the crown of the root canal that was previously performed in the past on the same tooth. The specialist has to clean thoroughly of all bacteria and replace the old restoration with new material in the conduits. All of the old materials have to be removed to access the conduits.