The length of endodontic treatment therapy depends on the situation of the tooth. An infected tooth will really need several dental appointments to make sure that the dental infection is eliminated, but some it can be done in one appointment only if uncomplicated tooth is treated. There are some teeth which are more difficult to treat because of the position of the tooth because they have many curved root canals that are difficult to locate, or the canal is too small. Once the root canal is done, with the use of dental surgical instruments, it is advisable to have your tooth restored with crown or fillings because later on root canal tooth can become discolored.

Steps and Procedure in Root Canal

Root canal treatment consists of several steps that take place over several office visits, depending on the situation. These steps are:

I. Diagnosis. It is very important for the dentist to diagnose the correct tooth, and    identify what sort of damage has occurred using dental surgical instruments. Diagnostistic tools are listed below:
•    Electric pulp tester is a dental surgical instrument that sends current through tooth to detect vitality of the tooth.
•    Cold test. Tests cold sensitivity with ice or ethyl chloride
•    Hot test. Tests hot sensitivity with warm gutta percha
•    Percussion tests. Tapping on the tooth to determine if infection and inflammation has reached the periodontal tissue at the tooth apex.
•    Radiographs. Darkening at tooth apex indicates periapical pathology and potential need for endodontic treatment; excessive bone loss worsens the prognosis for endodontic treatment.
•    Periodontal probing. Determines if the tooth and gums have a good prognosis for endodontic treatment.

II. Access Opening.

The dentist or endodontist will numb or anesthetize the area around the tooth. You also may receive sedation, such as nitrous oxide, or your dentist may offer other anxiety-reducing techniques if you feel you need them.

A hole is drilled through the enamel and dentin using dental surgical instruments and all dental decay will be removed. The opening is then deepened in order to enter the pulp chamber. The diseased pulp chamber in the pulp chamber is removed, and the root canal is located. The purpose of this stage is to achieve: good visibility, good instrument accessibility, and determine the precise root canal location.

An X-ray is taken after this stage in order to determine the exact length of the dental root canals being treated, and the dentist needs to know if how long the canal to make sure all the diseased tissue is removed and the entire canal is clean. First, the dentist will place a file into the dental canal he is measuring then an x-ray is taken to determine how close the file is to the end of the dental canal. This file can then be measured to obtain the root canal length.