Endodontics › Root canal treatment
A tooth is made of two parts and consists of 3 layers. The crown is the part of the tooth that is visible in the mouth. The root is the part that is in the bone and holds the tooth in position. The outermost layer on the crown is the enamel, and on the root portion it is covered by the cementum. Inside the enamel and cementum is a softer layer called the dentin that forms most of the tooth. The innermost layer is called the pulp which contains nerves and blood vessels which nourish the tooth. This constitutes the root canal and there can be more than one root canal in a single tooth.
The pulp can be affected by infection due to trauma, tooth decay, cracks and chips or repeated dental procedures. When this happens, symptoms include pain, swelling and/or sensitivity to temperature. The pulp has regenerative and repair capacity; however when these processes are overwhelmed, the pulp can die and the infection can spread to the root apex and the tooth can become symptomatic.
There are two common ways to deal with this: either by removing the tooth (extraction) or by eliminating the infection from the root canal system (root canal treatment).