The treatment cleans the inside of the tooth and removes any bacteria or dead pulp tissue. The root filling prevents bacteria reinfecting the tooth and causing toothache. Once this has been completed the tooth can have a crown or filling placed on top which will then allow the tooth to function normally.

It is important to preserve teeth as they are irreplaceable and further complications can arise later due to the remanent space in the mouth. Typical problems that might occur when a tooth is extracted are;
Teeth opposite the tooth extracted may overerupt down into the space left by the lower tooth.
Teeth adjacent to the lost tooth may tip and rotate making biting uneven.
Bone is lost after tooth extraction, in those with no teeth the bone is lost continually throughout life eventually leaving very little bone for the denture to sit on.
The loss of a front tooth may result in a poor appearance both because of the gap and also because bone is lost causing the face to sink in. Many denture wearers are concerned of this as it makes them appear older. The loss of the tooth may also interfere with speech as many sounds are made by the tongue touching the back of the front teeth.

A root treatment may require several visits to complete due to the complexity of the procedure. Many patients cannot appreciate what work is done as they cannot see any change within their mouths after the appointment. The series of diagrams below illustrates the cause and subsequent treatment of an infected pulp.
Once a healthy tooth becomes heavily decayed there is a chance that the nerve may be invaded by bacteria via holes in the dentin. The second diagram shows how the decay has gone through the enamel and dentin to reach the nerve where it produces inflammation and toothache.

Once the bacteria have reached the nerve the body starts to react by sending immune cells to the region to fight the bacteria. These cells travel around in the blood using the blood vessels as a natural motorway. The problem for our bodies is that blood must enter a tooth through a small hole at the tip of the root. This acts as a bottleneck which usually allows the bacteria to win the battle. The nerve tissue then starts to die from the point where the bacteria entered until all the pulp/ nerve tissue has died. The bacteria then colonize the inside of the tooth.

In order to treat the tooth, the endodontist, who is a dentist who specializes in treating mainly root canals, must cut an access hole in the top of the tooth. He or she will use the drill to do this. Once they have opened the tooth they will use a variety of instruments to clean the inside out. Small instruments the size of fine needles are passed down inside the root canals and used to file the inside walls which will be coated with infective bacteria. The endodontist will rinse the inside out with disinfectants to kill bacteria which may hide in smaller canals off the side of the main chamber. Once they have completed this they will dry the canals with fine paper points.

The tooth then needs to be sealed to prevent any other bacteria entering the tooth from the mouth. The endodontist will fill the tooth with gutta percha; this material is pink and rubber like in texture. The endodontist will place these down inside the tooth and wedge them in to give a tight fit. The excess is then cut off with a hot instrument. Once this is done a normal filling is placed on top, usually a white filling in a front tooth.