Endodontic treatment - information about treatment

Root canal treatment aims to preserve and maintain a tooth that would otherwise have to be extracted. The probability of success with this type of treatment is very high, but it is a method closely related to biological processes in the body and 100% success cannot be guaranteed.

• Despite proper root canal treatment, approximately 5% of such teeth will eventually have to be extracted.
• In a situation where the tooth crown is very damaged, it may be necessary to temporarily rebuild the crown before starting root canal treatment, which is associated with additional costs.
• There is a risk of the canal not being prepared in its entirety due to its calcification or previous incorrect treatment.
• There is a risk of perforation (perforation) of the canal wall, which may result in the need to remove the tooth.
• During root canal treatment, pain, swelling and even abscess may occur, surgical intervention and/or antibiotic therapy may be necessary.
• There is a risk of pushing a certain amount of canal filling material beyond its apex, which may cause pain. Sometimes surgical intervention is also necessary.
• During root canal treatment, the crown of the tooth may break, which may result in prosthetic treatment of the tooth (i.e. crown-root insert and prosthetic crown) or surgical treatment (i.e. removal of the tooth if the fracture gap is in such a way that prosthetic treatment is impossible).
• Endodontic therapy is largely effective, but success cannot be guaranteed as it is a biological procedure.
• In the case of treatment of teeth with periapical changes, there is a risk that, despite proper treatment, these changes will not heal. The procedure in such cases consists in removing the root apex together with changes (resection), removing the entire root ( radectomy ) or half of the tooth (hemisection) – applies to multi-rooted teeth.
• The condition for the success of root canal treatment is, in addition to tight filling of the canal, also tight filling of the defect. If this is not possible due to extensive tooth destruction, we make a crown-root inlay and a prosthetic crown.
• After treatment, the tooth must be radiologically controlled: the first image after 6 months, then every 12 months for 4 years.