Bacteria are the most common cause of root canal problems. If our mouths were healthy, there would be no infections or decay, and damaged teeth would be able to heal themselves. Although germs cause almost all root canal problems, I’ll discuss five other causes, four of which can be avoided.
Reasons Why Root Canals Fail
The success rate of initial root canal procedures should be 85-97 percent; however, 30 percent of an endodontist’s work is redoing a failed root canal. The majority of them fail for the reasons listed below:
1. Missed Canals
The most common cause of failure that we have seen is untreated anatomy caused by missing canals. Our understanding of tooth anatomy should enable the dentist to identify each canal. As a result, canals should be considered because the technology exists to determine their location.
Assume that a dentist offers endodontic (root canal) treatment. In that case, they will require the equipment to treat the tooth’s entire anatomy. Therefore, a root canal performed by an endodontist may be more expensive than one performed by a general dentist. Still, it’s worth doing things correctly the first time.
2. Incompletely Treated Canal
The second leading cause of failure is improperly treated canals. This is usually expressed as “being short,” which means that if a canal is 23 millimeters long, the doctor can only treat the first 20 millimeters. Shorter canals are more likely to fail due to the untreated or empty area for bacteria to thrive and cause infection.
3. Tissue
The tissue that remains inside the tooth after the initial root canal is the third factor that causes failure. The tooth’s tissue provides food for bacteria that can cause infection within the root canal system. Furthermore, root canals have an irregular shape, making cleaning them difficult with our round instruments. Moreover, tissue can be removed due to insufficient lighting and magnification. Because it was done too quickly, this is possible with a dental microscope.
4. Fracture
A common cause of failure is a root fracture. Though it may affect the root canal-treated tooth, it is unlikely to be directly related to the procedure. However, cracks in the root allow bacteria to enter areas where they should not be. Furthermore, they can cause fractures in teeth that haven’t had fillings, implying that many of them are unavoidable. Click here for more information about root canal therapy.
5. Leakage
The fundamental goals of endodontics therapy, like root canal treatment in Edmonton, are to remove tissue, eliminate germs, and seal the area to prevent bacterial infection. Bacterial leakage occurs in all dental materials. Therefore, we want to keep leakage to a minimum. However, the balance can shift, and infection can occur at any unknown point. As a result, the more precautions we take to avoid leakage, our chances of success are better.
Furthermore, leakage can be reduced by having the patient visit their restorative dentist after their root canal treatment is completed. This is possible through effective collaboration between the dentist and your restorative dentist.