Root canal vs extraction
A root canal Edinburgh is a very effective, safe and comfortable procedure that resolves dental abscesses while retaining the affected tooth. Yet many patients think extraction is preferable. Let’s compare the two and break down the pros and cons.
How do they work?
Root canals-
A root canal Edinburgh is carried out over two sessions. The first session, referred to as the preparation session, involves opening the tops of the affected tooth and reaching the root canal itself. This drilling option can be extremely narrow, the width of a human hair in some cases. And depending on the shape of the root (they may not be straight but branched or twisted), this is far too small and fiddly to successfully clean. Systematically widening the canal can help with better access, and will help with a more thorough cleaning. This work can be very challenging and extends the length of the procedure as well as requiring the use of optical equipment and specialised files. Often, it cannot be completed within a standard session resulting in a temporary filling and the booking of a second appointment.
Once the root canal Edinburgh is fully widened to the pulp, access can be gained through the tooth. This is where the abscess itself is drained and removed. The void left by the abscess is filled with an antiseptic solution destroying any remaining bacteria. A full tooth filling can be carried out; this filling starts deep in the tooth and extends up through the widened canal right the way to the access hole.
Many patients consider this to be a challenging procedure although it is fairly comfortable and can be performed without local numbing agents if the nerve of the tooth has already been destroyed by the abscess.
Importantly, it allows the tooth to be saved with fully filled teeth having approximately the same strength as their untreated counterparts although a reduction in sensation in the tooth is to be expected due to nerve disruption.
Extractions-
Extractions are shorter: removing the tooth removes the infection! This process is no more than 10 minutes and immediately exposes the underlying abscess that can be cleaned directly and the similar application so antiseptic solution can be made directly to the site.
Particularly when molars are extracted, the hun is often stitched in order to avoid the complication of dry socket. Although this is not technically necessary, it is a wise precaution.
Why not just use antibiotics to resolve an abscess?
It would certainly be how to treat abscesses with antibiotics in theory. And thus remove any need for dental intervention. But it’s rarely successful. The abscess cyst is surrounded by a thick layer of fibrous tissue or scar tissue. This has been laid down by the inflamed cells in order to contain the infection making most abscesses throughout the body less susceptible to antibiotic treatment than other infections. In the case of dental abscesses, this is compounded by the poor blood circulation of the infection site in between the base of the root and the jawbone, making delivery of the antibiotic to the infection site challenging at best.