English 
Endodontics, commonly known as “Root Canal Treatment”, which is an incorrect term mainly due to two reasons: (1) the goal is to eliminate and not treat (to recover) “the root canal” inside the tooth and in fact (2) what is eliminated isn’t only the root canal but the dental pulp, which accommodates this and other important components such as arteries, veins, and lymph vessels, confirming that dental pieces are independent organs.
Endodontics involves all the structures and processes that happen in the pulp niche (cavity that contains the pulp). The pulp chamber is a sterile area surrounded by the rigid tooth’s walls, isolated from the saliva, which isn’t sterile; generally endodontics is necessary when microorganisms invade this enclosure through cavities, trauma, or factures.
Once the pulp is contaminated, it’s necessary to remove it and clean the area where it is to avoid or heal symptoms in nearby tissue. An endodontics is never finished until the tooth is definitely restored, otherwise, treatment could fail, besides, endodontics is the last resource to save and preserve the natural tooth in the mouth.
Frequent symptoms
The most frequent signs and symptoms that could cause trouble with the dental pulp (“the root canal”) are: exaggerated sensibility to temperature stimuli (hot or cold), pain or discomfort while biting, color change in the dental piece (darker than the rest), appearance of gum boils (“abscesses”), feeling of loose tooth, among others.
Who makes the treatment?
This treatment is made by an endodontist (endodontics) who is a professional specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of these types of dental matters.
Post-treatment
Normally after the end of the treatment it’s advisable not to eat anything solid an hour after the appointment, however, it’s ideal not to chew food until the effect of anesthesia is completely over to avoid biting your cheek or tongue. You must remember not to eat hard things (crunchy or toasted) to avoid the fracture of the crown or the root, until your dental piece has been properly repaired with its final and permanent restoration.
In order to have a more comfortable post-operatory, you will be prescribed anti-inflammatory painkillers to help fight discomfort in the following days. Normally patients can go back to their everyday work without trouble, just with the case’s measures that are keeping good mouth hygiene, brush your teeth, flossing, and not chewing hard food (for example crunchy or toasted) until the dental piece has been permanently repaired.
It’s important that the patient understands that the loss of a tooth is very harmful for the entire chewing system, since the same biting force would be distributed in less teeth, translating into important issues in medium and long term, for example: “moved” teeth, “holes” or spaces in the smile, loss in bite stability (occlusal trauma), issues in the jaw’s articulation, headaches, among others.
In the Dental Alfa Clinic we count with professionals in the endodontics area to treat all these kinds of illnesses, so if you wish for an estimate you can contact us, it would be a pleasure to serve and help you feel good.
