The centre of all teeth contains a chamber that extends down the length of each root that houses the nerve and is filled with blood. This is called the pulp. If the tooth is injured by decay, trauma or cracked this can cause tooth ache as the nerve becomes involved. This might be the classic dull ache that keeps you awake at night, it might be a short, sharp pain on biting or a lingering discomfort after a cold drink.
In order to stop the pain or remove infection from in the bone underneath a tooth it may be necessary to remove the nerve from inside the tooth, this is root canal therapy. The aim is to remove the contents of the pulp chamber entirely, eradicate any bacteria in the canals leaving them sterile and fill the space to create a seal so no organisms can survive.
Root canal therapy is carried out under local anaesthesia so you won’t feel anything at all. A small amount of post operative discomfort for a day or so is very normal and nothing to be concerned about and can be managed with a small amount of ibuprofen and paracetamol if well tolerated.
The tooth is then restored, usually with a ceramic crown to protect it from fracture because it will be more fragile and weaker after root canal therapy.
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