Why do root canals fail

What are the symptoms of a failed root canal? What is the treatment for a bad root canal? Do root canals cause health problems? In order to understand why most root canals fail , we need to share a brief review of the anatomy of your tooth.

Root Canal Challenges Each of your teeth has anywhere from one to four roots in separate canals , and each of those canals may have accessory canals , some of which branch off horizontally.

A root canal fails when a tooth that has been previously treated with a root canal procedure becomes infected at the root. If this infection is allowed to continue to develop without proper treatment, the infection can potentially spread to other teeth in the area or cause illness in other parts of the body. Root canals will fail if a small amount of bacteria is missed and it is packed into the tooth. The bacteria will continue to multiple and eat away at the tooth. When the root of the tooth is remove the tooth is now considered weak and can break over time.

The most common way to retreat a root canal problem is to either repeat the original treatment or extract the tooth that has been damaged enough to make a successful retreatment unlikely. In the photo to the right you can see a common presentation of an infected tooth.

In this case, an old root canal that has failed is draining pus and infection from the tooth. Caries or gum disease can develop on the roots of a treatment tooth, just like any other natural tooth. If our mouths were sterile there would be no decay or infection, and damaged teeth coul in ways, repair themselves. So although we can attribute nearly all root canal failure to the presence of bacteria, I will discuss five common reasons why root canals fail, and why at least four of them are mostly preventable. Cracked root: By root canal therapy, roots of the tooth become bit brittle and can fracture on chewing which can further cause failure of root canal treatment.

Dental crown after root canal treatment prevents fracture of tooth on chewing. Fracture of the root may occur during root canal treatment procedure and cause root canal treatment failure. Our page about reasons why root canal treatment can fail explains different problems that may crop up. The procedure is the same as the first root canal with the addition of a couple of extra stages.

As the picture shows, the drainage presents as a pimple on the surface of the gums on the outside surface of the tooth. Examples of specific reasons why root canal treatment may fail. Unfilled accessory or lateral canals. Overextension of filling materials (overfill). Inadequate coronal seal.

Clinician procedural errors.

Preoperative pathology. Lack of clinician expertise. Root canals are one of the basic parts of the teeth.

Why do Root Canals fail ? They are spaces that are situated within the teeth, which evidently branches out into several parts such as the pulp chamber, the main canal and the intricate anatomical branches. During the procedure, the diseased pulp, nerve, tissue, and debris must be removed to relieve pain and also prevent further infections. The major reasons as to why root canal treatments fail to provide the intended benefits or purposes include.

The canal has to be thoroughly cleaned to the end of the tooth for treatment success. A root of the tooth also can develop a crack which makes it impossible to seal the canal and prevent infection from re-entering the tooth. Read more about fractured teeth.

Treating a failed root canal: For many of these problems, re-treating the tooth may solve it. Symptoms which could be an indication of a failed root canal treatment include: A painful sensation experienced when tapping the tooth. Inflamed areas in your gums. Altered sense of taste.

Mouth ulcer which doesn’t heal. The natural tooth is far more superior to that of any artificial alternative. That is why dentists prefer to save the tooth rather than replace it. Complications That Arise During and After a Root Canal. Root canal treatments have a success rate without complications.

For example the tooth may fracture or split. Sometimes infection at the end of the tooth is very resistant to antibiotic and cause failure. Occasionally, the seal in the root canal may fail and allow bacteria to invade the canal.

If the treatment has faile the dentist will evaluate the condition of the tooth and the reasons of the root canal complications, in order to decide if the tooth can be saved.