Root Canal Fillings

Root canal treatment can be used to prevent tooth extraction, so that teeth can be preserved. Root canal treatment is always performed on vital teeth under local anaesthetic.

Suitable materials for filling the canal during root canal treatment include gutta percha and special root canal filling materials. The goal of root canal treatment is to preserve the patient's teeth. Thus, the endodontist can perform a root canal treatment on a dead tooth and try to preserve it. However, the tooth should then be restored with dentures, as teeth treated at the root canal become more porous and more prone to fracture over time.

Even in the case of an inflammation in the tooth that causes pain, a deep caries or an old root filling, the teeth can still be preserved from tooth decay with a root treatment, a root canal treatment or an apicoectomy.

If a tooth has is inflamed, the nerve (pulp) can be removed and a root canal treatment followed by a root canal filling with e.g. gutta percha can be performed. After the root canal treatment is completed, treatment success is monitored with an X-ray.

Teeth with an old root canal filling from previous root canal treatments can also be preserved by this treatment under certain circumstances. In this case, the endodontist removes the root canal filling from the previous treatment, cleans the canal completely and thoroughly and rinses the root canal with a disinfecting liquid to remove bacteria. Often a surgical intervention in the form of an apicoectomy and a retrograde root filling is necessary to keep the tooth free of discomfort and to avoid pain. During this procedure, the root tip is freed from inflamed tissue and then sealed.