If we define it “as in books”, endodontics is the branch of dentistry specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the dental pulp (or nerve, as we say popularly).
But, because we want to explain it to everyone, we would rather say that the goals of each endodontic (canal) treatment are to prevent or cure a dental infection, keeping that tooth on the arch.
Our teeth are not bare inside. What is inside, the pulp of the tooth, is made up of blood vessels and nerves, all located in one or more channels inside the root of the tooth, depending on the anatomy of each tooth.
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Endodontic treatment aims to remove the pulpal infection that occurs due to the evolution of dental caries and the infiltration of bacteria from the caries process at this level. Also to try to keep a tooth on the arch for as long as possible, we can resume failed endodontic treatments for various reasons.
In order to perform these operations with the highest possible accuracy and to have a clear image of the inside of the tooth, optical magnification systems (operating microscope) are used. State-of-the-art cleaning and sterilization systems inside root canals are used accurately, along with the latest filling techniques. Thus the tooth is sealed, along the entire length of the root, with biocompatible materials. The treatment must be done under dam isolation of the treated tooth, the bacteria in the saliva must not reach the inside of the tooth during the treatment, and at the end it must be sealed and completely closed with a biocompatible material, along the entire length of the tooth root. It is important to know that the lifespan of a devital tooth depends entirely on the correctness of the endodontic treatment and its subsequent protection with a crown.
