Inside your tooth's hard outer shell is a nourishing pulp of blood vessels, lymph vessels and nerves. The root's canal, allow these vessels and nerves to extend to connect to the rest of the body's systems. Deep tooth decay, or injury can cause serious damage and infection to the pulps nerves and vessels. Root canal, also known as endodontic treatment, cleans out the infected pulp chamber and canals and replaces the organic material with an inert filling.

Some indications of the need for root canal treatment may be:

Because the tooth will not heal by itself. Without treatment, infection will spread, bone around the tooth will begin to degenerate, and the tooth may fall out. Pain usually worsens until one is forced to seek emergency dental attention. The only alternative is usually extraction of the tooth, which can cause surrounding teeth to shift crookedly, resulting in a bad bite. Though an extraction is cheaper, the space left behind will require an implant or a bridge, which can be more expensive than root canal therapy. If you have the choice, it's always best to keep your original teeth.

Treatment usually involves one to three appointments. First, you will probably be given a local anesthetic to numb the area. A gap is drilled from the top of the tooth into the pulp chamber, which, along with any infected root canal, is cleaned of all diseased pulp and reshaped. Medication is inserted into the area to fight bacteria and a temporary filling is placed. Depending on the size and number of canals, a second appointment of cleaning and enlarging of the canals may be needed.

On the last visit the pulp chamber and canals are filled with rubberlike material called gutta percha. If the tooth is weak, a metal post may be inserted above the canal filling to reinforce the tooth. Finally, a gold or porcelain crown is normally placed over the tooth to strengthen its structure and improve appearance.

More than 95 percent of root canal treatments are successful. However, sometimes a case needs to be retreated. Sometimes a surgical approach is required to seal the canals shut. Occasionally, a root canal therapy will fail altogether, marked by a return of pain, requiring extraction.