Services

Endodontic treatment (root canal treatment)

Tooth decay (caries), as well as a blow to the tooth, a deep filling, a crack or fracture in the crown, can cause damage to the dental pulp. As a result, the pulpal tissue may inflame (pulpitis) and cause (severe) tooth pain, or the pulp may die (necrosis), which often goes unnoticed. The infected root canal will eventually cause inflammation of the jaw bone surrounding the root tip. An abscess or cyst may later develop from this.

Treatment

Both in the case of an inflamed pulp (pulpitis) or necroctic pulp (necrosis), root canal treatment (endodontic treatment) is recommended. This procedure involves removal of the root canal content, cleaning, shaping and disinfection of the root canal space, followed by hermetic sealing under the form of a root canal filling and coronal restoration. In this way, inflammation, infection and pain are eliminated and tooth function is restored. 

Teeth in the front of the oral cavity usually have one, sometimes two root canals. The molars further back in the mouth usually have three and often four canals. Because they have more canals, they have a more complicated internal anatomy with very fine and hard to reach canals, root canal treatment of the posterior teeth is a time-consuming procure that us often performed in two sessions. The placement of a disinfecting paste in the canals in between visits ensures additional disinfection. 

Re-treatment

Sometimes it happens that a tooth that has already received root canal treatment causes problems due to residual bacteria or reinfection. In that case, re-treating the root canals (re-treatment) may be a solution. The old root canal filling is removed, after which the infected canals are thoroughly disinfected. The further course of treatment is identical to the regular treatment.

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