Root Canal Treatment

Root canal (endodontic) treatment saves a tooth whose inner pulp has become inflamed or infected, removing the damaged tissue, cleaning and shaping the canals and sealing them so the tooth can be kept rather than extracted. Carried out under local anaesthetic, often with the clinic's X-ray support to map the canals, it relieves the associated toothache and allows the tooth to be rebuilt with a filling or crown.

Root canal treatment is needed when the soft tissue inside a tooth — the pulp, which contains its nerve and blood supply — becomes irreversibly inflamed or infected, usually through deep decay, a crack or repeated dental work. At Centrum Stomatologiczne Legnica the procedure is performed under local anaesthetic so the tooth and surrounding area are numb throughout. The dentist opens the tooth, removes the diseased pulp, then carefully cleans, disinfects and shapes the narrow root canals before filling and sealing them to keep bacteria out. On-site X-ray imaging helps establish how many canals a tooth has and confirm they have been treated to the correct length, which is important for a lasting result. The aim is to keep a natural tooth that would otherwise have to be removed, and to settle the toothache that an inflamed or abscessed pulp can cause. Front teeth generally have a single canal and are more straightforward, while molars can have three or four, which is why treatment of a back tooth takes longer and costs more; depending on the case the work may be completed in one visit or staged across two. A tooth that has had root-canal treatment loses its internal blood supply and can become more brittle, so it is usually rebuilt afterwards with a substantial filling or, more often for molars, protected with a crown — this restorative step is quoted separately. Your dentist will explain the prognosis for the specific tooth and any alternatives at the consultation.