The Basics of Root Canal Procedures

Rodney Goodie is a well established presence in the Houston health care community who guides the St. Hope Foundation. Among the essential home care services the Foundation provides are those that address Hepatitis C, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Rodney Goodie and his team also provide a host of dentistry procedures that focus on maintaining basic oral health, including endodontic treatments.

Involving the procedure of root canals, endodontics focuses on saving decayed or injured teeth through taking out infected nerve and pulp material in the chamber that nourishes the tooth and replacing it with the rubber-like material known as gutta-percha. Cleaning the canal effectively involves using endodontic instruments to clear out tissue and debris from the canal. The success of the root canal depends on removing the minimum amount of tooth structure possible, and it is here that advanced reciprocation and engine-driven rotary instruments come into play.

This part of the procedure does not remove 100 percent of infectious materials. The next step involves using an irrigant such as sodium hypochlorite to dissolve the remaining necrotic tissue and kill all bacteria before the canal is sealed and the tooth is restored.