What is endodontic treatment?

Commonly referred to as a ‘Root Canal’, Endodontic treatment is the cleaning out and removal of unhealthy or necrotic pulp tissue. “Endo” is the Greek word for “inside” and “odṓn” is Greek for “tooth.”

To understand endodontic treatment, it helps to know something about the anatomy of the tooth. Inside the tooth, under the white enamel and a hard layer called the dentin, is a soft tissue called the pulp. The pulp is found in the tooth’s canal system and contains blood vessels, nerves, and connective tissue. The tooth’s pulp creates the surrounding hard tissues of the tooth during development.

The pulp extends from the crown of the tooth to the tip of the roots where it connects to the tissues surrounding the root. The pulp is important during a tooth’s growth and development. However, once a tooth is fully mature it can survive without the pulp, because the tooth continues to be nourished by the tissues surrounding it.