Can it be finished in one sitting?

Often yes, when the tooth is not acutely infected and the canals are straightforward. When there is active infection, pus, or a canal that needs medication between visits, splitting it over two appointments gives a better result.

Do I really need a crown afterwards?

On molars and premolars, yes. The tooth has been hollowed out and no longer has a blood supply, which makes it brittle. Most root canals that fail do so because the tooth fractured, not because the canal treatment was poor.

Would extraction be cheaper?

On the day, yes. Replacing the tooth afterwards with an implant or a bridge costs considerably more than the root canal and crown would have, and nothing replaces a natural root as well as the root itself.

Root canal treatment

Removing infected pulp from inside a tooth, disinfecting the canals and sealing them, so the tooth can stay in the mouth instead of coming out.

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Operatory at Rudra Dental where root canal treatment is carried out

Inside every tooth is a soft core of nerve and blood vessels called the pulp. Deep decay, a crack, or a heavy knock lets bacteria reach it. Once the pulp is infected it cannot heal on its own, and the infection travels down the root towards the bone.

A root canal takes that infected tissue out. The canals are cleaned, shaped and disinfected, then filled and sealed so bacteria cannot get back in. The tooth stays where it is and keeps doing its job.

The reputation for pain comes from the toothache people arrive with, not the treatment. The procedure itself is done under local anaesthesia and most patients find it comparable to having a filling.

Sittings: One for straightforward cases, two or three with active infection
Time in the chair: Around 45 to 90 minutes per sitting
Anaesthesia: Local, you stay awake throughout
Finishing: A crown is strongly recommended on back teeth

When it is needed

Signs we look for

Pain that lingers after hot or cold

Sensitivity that fades in a second or two is usually harmless. Pain that carries on for thirty seconds or more after the stimulus is gone suggests the pulp is inflamed.

Pain on biting or pressure

A tooth that hurts when you bite down, or feels taller than the others, often has infection at the root tip pressing on the surrounding ligament.

Swelling or a gum boil

A tender lump on the gum beside a tooth is pus finding a way out. This needs attention quickly, not painkillers.

A tooth that has changed colour

A single tooth turning grey or brown, particularly after an old injury, usually means the pulp has died quietly without pain.

Step by step

What actually happens

Diagnosis

A digital x-ray shows how far the decay has travelled and whether infection has reached the bone. Pulp tests confirm whether the nerve is inflamed, dying or already dead.

Anaesthesia and isolation

The tooth is numbed and isolated with a rubber dam, which keeps saliva out of the canals and stops anything reaching the back of your throat.

Cleaning and shaping

The pulp chamber is opened and the canals are cleaned with rotary files, flushing at every stage with disinfectant. Curved and calcified canals are where most of the time goes.

Filling and sealing

Once the canals are dry they are filled with gutta percha and sealer, then closed with a core build up. An x-ray confirms the fill reaches the root tip.

The crown

A treated tooth has lost its blood supply and becomes brittle. A crown holds it together and is what decides whether the work lasts years or decades.

Afterwards

Looking after it at home

Expect mild soreness for two to three days as the ligament around the root settles. Ordinary painkillers handle it.

Chew on the other side until the crown is fitted. A temporary filling is not built to take full biting force.

Come back if pain increases rather than eases after the third day, or if swelling appears.

Once crowned, the tooth needs the same brushing and flossing as any other. It can still get decay at the margin.

Questions