Need To Know: What is a Root Canal?

Dental care is one of the types of bodily hygiene that is sometimes left underappreciated by many people. One aspect of dental care that should be taken into account more often is the presence of root canals.

A root canal is simply the space that is within the root of a tooth, also known as the pulp chamber and travels down the length of the root underneath. In this space there are also things such as nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissues to be found, so the structure there is sound.

On average a person can have up to four root canals, though this greatly depends on what the structure of said person's tooth is like. For example, the molars of a person's mouth can have between two and four root canals, whereas the incisors generally have only one.

The main structure for root canals, in addition to the pulp chambers, also consist of a lot of smaller branches around them which are called accessory canals, which are most abundant in the areas near the end of the root. Since there are nerves inside the pulp chambers, they as a result serve as body sensors for teeth, but only for this purpose alone. However, there are instances in which the root canals deviate from what is considered normal for them, such as having an unusual shape or having more than one root canal.

Naturally, root canals are often a source for treatment and therapy in dental centers. A tooth, and by extension the canal, can be damaged by having a cavity or something that cracked the tooth, which leaves it open to infection.

If there is an infection then the dental pulp, as well as the bone, blood vessels and nerves inside of it can be damaged, too and thus root canal therapy will be needed. Normally, an OKC dentist in charge of this treatment is called an endodontist and undergoes a root canal treatment by first opening up the damaged tooth, removing any of the dental pulp that may have been damaged over time and then cleaning, filling and sealing up the tooth afterward.

A root canal is an essential part of human anatomy as well as in dental care.