Root canal treatment (also known as endodontic
therapy, endodontic treatment, or root canal therapy)
is a treatment sequence for the infected pulp of a tooth which
results in the elimination of infection and the protection of the
decontaminated tooth from future microbial invasion. Root canals,
and their associated pulp chamber, are the physical hollows within a tooth
that are naturally inhabited by nerve tissue, blood vessels and
other cellular entities. Together, these items constitute the dental
pulp.
Endodontic
therapy involves the removal of these structures, the
subsequent shaping, cleaning, and decontamination of the hollows with small
files and irrigating solutions, and the obturation (filling)
of the decontaminated canals. Filling of the cleaned and decontaminated canals
is done with an inert filling such as gutta-percha and typically
a Zinc oxide eugenol-based cement. Epoxy resin
is employed to bind gutta-percha in some root canal procedures. Endodontics
includes both primary and secondary endodontic treatments as well as periradicular
surgery which is generally used for teeth that still have potential for
salvage
