To fully understand endodontics, it’s necessary first to understand the anatomy of a tooth. The visible part of the tooth often referred to as the crown, generally only includes the enamel. This is a semi-translucent layer that serves as a barrier, protecting your tooth from outside irritants and infection. The next layer is called dentin and forms the bulk of your tooth. The dentin provides you with a large enough mass of strong matter to chew through most of your food with ease. When a tooth is extracted, what you see is usually a combination of the outer enamel and the dentin.

Inside the dentin is the pulp chamber. The pulp contains the connective tissue, nerves, and blood vessels. These connect your tooth to the rest of the body, allowing the delivery of necessary nutrients that are critical to dentin production. This is especially important when there are irritants and signs of decay in your teeth. When faced with such situations, your tooth pulp will stimulate new dentin’s growth, creating a new protective layer in the process.

All these elements work together to keep your teeth strong and protect them from infections. Unfortunately, in some cases, cavities are still able to form and spread throughout the tooth. Even if you’re cavity-free, blunt trauma to the area can have the same effect. If the damage reaches your tooth’s inner areas, bacteria can reach the pulp, and your tooth pulp can become infected.

When you feel sharp pain in your tooth, it is usually due to a problem with the inner pulp; however, it’s important to note that infections are not always accompanied by pain. That’s why it’s critical to have a skilled endodontist examine your teeth and verify whether or not you’ll need further treatment. Allowing an infection to persist without treatment is extremely hazardous to your health. In some cases, your pulp may still be healthy enough to preserve with more superficial treatments, but if your tooth pulp is infected, then a more serious intervention will be necessary. At this stage, the pulp is no longer helping your tooth and is instead putting you at risk. When this happens, the best course of action is to remove it altogether with a root canal.

Research conducted by the American Association of Endodontists shows that over 59% of people are afraid of root canals, but the truth is that with today’s technology and knowledge, these procedures are about as scary as a routine filling. More than 41,000 root canals are performed every single day! Here’s how the procedure works:

• The area will be heavily anesthetized during the procedure, ensuring you don’t feel a thing.
• Once the anesthetic has fully taken effect, your endodontist will make a small opening in the tooth to reach the inner pulp.
• The area is then rinsed with a special antibacterial fluid, which effectively rids it of any infections.
• Finally, the pulp is removed, and the area is cleaned out, filled, and sealed. This helps protect it from any future damage and keeps your tooth strong from the inside out.