Root Canals

Dr. Balogh and the VCCID team are highly trained to ensure your root canal is safe and painless.

What is a Root Canal?

A root canal is a procedure to remove dead and infected tissue from within a tooth and replace it with a filling material to prevent bacteria from reentering the tooth. Inside each tooth there is living tissue, composed of a small capillary, vein, nerve and some cellular tissue. If a tooth is traumatized, the nerve inside can be adversely affected and may die. When this happens, all the cells die and the blood supply to and from the tooth dies. This dead tissue within the tooth is a wonderful place for bacteria to grow and eventually the tooth will become a source of infection. This process can take a period of several weeks, to several months or more. Untended cavities and multiple fillings are the most common cause of tooth death, although extensive trauma such as fractures, cracks or blows to a tooth will also cause the cells to die.

Unfortunately, these infected teeth often result in severe pain, swelling and in some cases even death if the infection spreads to the bloodstream or other areas of the body. In order to prevent this from happening the tooth must either be removed or undergo root canal treatment (also known as Endodontic Treatment).

Are Root Canals Painful?

No. Today root canals do not need to be painful at all. If a tooth is properly anaesthetized, a person will not feel discomfort during a root canal, any more than one would during routine fillings. And the majority of root canals today are completed painlessly within one appointment.

Are Root Canals Safe?

There has been some ongoing controversy over the safety of root canaled teeth. When a root canal is properly done, all the living and dead tissue within the canal is removed. The canal is irrigated with antibacterial solutions to eliminate any bacteria present, and then a combination of filling material and sealers/cements are used to fill the canal. The success of the treatment is traditionally based on a lack of symptoms, an x ray showing filling material completely sealing the canal to the tip of the root and no sign of infection on the x ray itself.

However, the roots of our teeth are made up of dentin. This material is porous and contains many microscopic tubules. Some experts believe that even successful root canals may contain some living or dead bacteria within these tubules, and that these bacteria and/or the toxins they produce may potentially spread to other areas of the body causing health problems, even though the tooth itself will feel fine and appear normal. This theory is known as focal infection and the alternative has been to simply extract the tooth. Since the 1990's the focal infection theory has seen a resurgence and many patients and some practitioners are now beginning to question the success and the possible health concerns of root canaled teeth.

If Need a Root Canal, What Should I Do?

At this point the focal infection theory is still very controversial and the evidence for it is not very definitive. The standard of care from the Canadian and American Dental Associations is root canals are effective and the focal infection theory is invalid or questionable at best. Based on a lack of tooth symptoms and x-rays alone, about 85-90% of all root canals are successful, in that there are no signs of infection or symptoms from the tooth. When they do fail, it can be the result of difficulty obtaining a proper seal at the tip of the root and/or the strength of your immune system. This can often be corrected by a retreatment or cleaning the area at the tip of the root (apicoectomy).

Further, there are alternative root canal 'fillers' that may be appropriate options for patients with concerns about focal infection.

Therefore, prior to making any irreversible decisions such as extracting a tooth you should review all of your options, evidence and health concerns with your dentist. The VCCID team would be happy to provide you with additional information about your root canal options. Please call us today.

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