Root Canal Therapy (Pulpectomy)

Root Canal Therapy, also known as Endodontic Therapy, is a phrase most commonly used to refer to the replacement of the pulp (nerves and blood vessels) inside a tooth with a rubber filling materials called gutta percha.

In this X-ray, you can see the bone loss that is indicated by the white arrow.  When the pulp of a tooth becomes infected, its tissues become inflamed and will eventually necrose (tissue death).  The contaminants from the infected pulp emanate from the tip of the root and cause damage to the bone which surrounds the tip.

If the problem persists, the bone damage will increase.  The yellow arrows point to an area where this bone damage has progressed sideways and is now involving the adjacent tooth.  The adjacent tooth will be in jeopardy if root canal treatment is not initiated.

Pulpal inflammation and infection can be caused by decay, thermal insult through large fillings, blunt trauma, occlusal (biting) trauma, or mechanical insult during filling placement.  In this X-ray, the black arrow points to multiple pins which have been placed in the tooth to hold the filling in place.  The red arrows point to the pulp chamber or root canal of the tooth.  As you can see near the lower red arrow, one of the pins is in or very near to the pulp.

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