Root canal

Root canal

A root canal is the commonly used term for the main canals within the dentin of the tooth. These are part of the natural cavity within a tooth that consists of the dental pulp chamber, the main canals, and sometimes more intricate anatomical branches that may connect the root canals to each other or to the root surface of the tooth. Root canals are filled with a highly vascularized, loose connective tissue, the dental pulp. This sometimes becomes infected and inflamed, generally due to caries or tooth fractures that allow microorganisms, mostly bacteria from the oral flora or their byproducts, access to the pulp chamber or the root canals; the infected tissue is removed by a surgical intervention known as endodontic therapy and commonly called a root canal.

Tooth structure

At the center of a tooth is a hollow area that houses soft tissue, known as pulp. This hollow area contains a relatively wide space towards the chewing surface of the tooth called the pulp chamber. This chamber is connected to the tip of the root of the tooth via thin hollow pipe-like canals—hence, the term "root canal". Human teeth normally have one to four canals, with teeth toward the back of the mouth having the most. These canals run through the center of the roots like pencil lead runs through the length of a pencil. The tooth receives nutrition through the blood vessels and nerves traversing these canals.

ee also

*Endodontic therapy
*Dental pulp
*Toothache
*Gum inflammation
*Dental implant

References

External links

* [http://knol.google.com/k/-/root-canal-procedure/iuonjocwdehl/21# The Root Canal procedure] - A detailed step by step description of the root canal procedure
* [http://www.aae.org American Association of Endodontists]
* [http://www.animated-teeth.com/root_canal/t1_root_canal.htm An animated review of root canal treatment.]
* [http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/dental-root-canals Root Canals at WebMD]
* [http://www.webmd.com/video/root-canal-alternative Video on Direct Pulp Capping, an alternative to Root Canal therapy]
* [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Text&db=PubMed&uid=12801290&dopt=Abstract Comparison of antibacterial and toxic effects of various root canal irrigants.]


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • root canal — n 1) the part of the pulp cavity lying in the root of a tooth called also pulp canal 2) a dental operation to save a tooth by removing the contents of its root canal and filling the cavity with a protective substance (as gutta percha) * * *… …   Medical dictionary

  • root canal — root′ canal n. 1) den the root portion of the pulp cavity of a tooth 2) den inf root canal therapy 2) • Etymology: 1890–95 …   From formal English to slang

  • root canal — ► NOUN 1) the pulp filled cavity in the root of a tooth. 2) N. Amer. a procedure to replace infected pulp in a root canal with an inert material …   English terms dictionary

  • root canal — n. 1. a small, tubular channel, normally filled with pulp, in the root of a tooth 2. a treatment or procedure involving the opening, cleaning, filling, etc. of a root canal …   English World dictionary

  • root canal — noun the passage in the root of a tooth through which its nerve and blood vessels enter the pulp cavity • Hypernyms: ↑passage, ↑passageway • Part Holonyms: ↑pulp cavity * * * noun, pl ⋯ nals [count] : a dental procedure to save a tooth by… …   Useful english dictionary

  • root canal — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms root canal : singular root canal plural root canals a set of thin spaces inside the root of a tooth that can become infected …   English dictionary

  • root canal — Dentistry. 1. Also called pulp canal. the root portion of the pulp cavity. 2. Informal. See root canal therapy (def. 2). [1890 95] * * * …   Universalium

  • root canal — noun Date: 1893 the part of the pulp cavity lying in the root of a tooth; also a dental operation to save a tooth by removing the contents of its root canal and filling the cavity with a protective substance …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • root canal — noun a) The hollow part of the root of a tooth containing the nerve and blood vessels. b) A surgical operation on a root canal, typically filling it with gutta percha …   Wiktionary

  • root canal — noun the pulp filled cavity in the root of a tooth. ↘N. Amer. a procedure to replace infected pulp in a root canal with an inert material …   English new terms dictionary

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