Root canal therapy, also known as endodontic therapy, is a procedure to remove inflamed or infected pulp tissue from within the tooth.
The pulp is where the nerves and blood vessels are found and it could become inflamed or infected if a cavity gets too deep, the tooth has a history of many dental procedures, or if the tooth somehow gets a deep crack letting bacteria get inside the tooth.
If this happens, the patient will often experience different severities of pain or throbbing, or even swelling of the gum or face beside the affected tooth.
The objective of this procedure is to allow your dentist to disinfect the inside of the tooth and preserve a tooth that would otherwise be extracted. Once completed, the root canal space inside the tooth is filled with special filling material to seal the root canals off from bacteria.
Following root canal therapy it is important to do a proper restoration on the tooth so that the tooth is structurally sound and so bacteria from the oral cavity do not re-enter the tooth.