In short: a root canal saves a tooth that would otherwise have to be pulled out. At Abhinav Dental Care we do most root canals in a single sitting, under proper local anaesthesia, using rotary instruments and an apex locator. It should not hurt — and if it does, something is wrong and we stop.
What a root canal actually is
Every tooth has a soft core running down its middle called the pulp. It contains the nerve and the blood supply that kept the tooth alive while it was forming. When decay eats through the enamel and dentine, or a crack lets bacteria in, that pulp gets infected. Infected pulp does not heal on its own — it dies, and the infection spreads out through the tip of the root into the jawbone, where it forms an abscess.
A root canal treatment (your dentist may call it RCT or endodontic treatment) removes that infected pulp, disinfects and shapes the hollow canals left behind, and seals them so bacteria cannot get back in. The tooth stays in your mouth. It keeps doing its job of chewing and holding your bite together.
The alternative is extraction. Pulling the tooth is quicker and cheaper on the day — but it leaves a gap that causes the neighbouring teeth to drift, the opposing tooth to over-erupt, and the jawbone in that spot to slowly shrink. Replacing it later with an implant or a bridge costs several times what the root canal would have. This is why we will almost always recommend saving the tooth if it is savable.
Signs you may need one
- Pain that lingers. A healthy tooth twinges at cold and recovers in a second or two. A dying pulp aches for minutes afterwards.
- Pain that wakes you at night or gets worse when you lie down.
- Sensitivity to heat specifically — hot tea causing a deep throb is a classic sign of irreversible pulp damage.
- A pimple on the gum near the tooth that comes and goes, sometimes with a bad taste. That is an abscess draining.
- Swelling of the gum, cheek or face. This needs to be seen the same day.
- A tooth that has gone grey compared to its neighbours, often years after a knock to the mouth.
- Pain on biting on one specific tooth.
Sometimes there is no pain at all. A pulp can die quietly and only show up as a dark shadow at the root tip on an X-ray taken for something else entirely. That is one of several reasons a check-up every six months is worth the trouble.
What happens during the treatment
1. Diagnosis and X-ray
We examine the tooth, test how it responds to cold and to tapping, and take a digital X-ray on site. The X-ray shows how deep the decay goes, how many canals the tooth has, how curved they are, and whether infection has already reached the bone. Digital radiography gives us that picture in seconds at a small fraction of the radiation dose of the old film X-rays.
2. Anaesthesia
We apply a topical numbing gel first so you barely feel the injection, then give local anaesthetic and wait until the tooth is properly numb. We test before starting. This is the step that determines whether the appointment is comfortable or not, and we do not rush it.
3. Opening and cleaning
A small access opening is made through the biting surface. The infected pulp is removed and the canals are cleaned with fine rotary files. An apex locator tells us electronically exactly where each root ends, so we clean the full length of the canal and no further — this precision is a large part of why modern root canals succeed and feel better than they used to. The canals are irrigated with a disinfecting solution as we go.
4. Sealing
Once the canals are clean, dry and shaped, they are filled with a rubber-like material called gutta-percha and sealed. The access opening is closed with a filling.
5. The crown
This step matters more than most patients realise. A root-treated back tooth has lost its blood supply and had material removed from its centre, which makes it brittle. Without a crown, a molar has a real chance of splitting — and a split root usually cannot be saved. We fit a crown, generally a couple of weeks later, to hold the tooth together and let you chew normally on it again.
Does it hurt?
The reputation root canals have is decades out of date. The pain people remember is the pain of the infection that sent them to the dentist in the first place. The treatment relieves that.
During the procedure you should feel pressure and vibration but not pain. Afterwards the tooth is often tender to bite on for two to four days as the ligament around the root settles down, and ordinary painkillers handle that comfortably. If pain is severe or increasing after the appointment, call us — that is not normal and we want to see you.
How long it takes
A front tooth with a single straight canal can take around 45 minutes. A lower molar with three or four curved canals can take 60 to 90 minutes. Most cases at our clinic are completed in one sitting. We will use two visits when the tooth is actively swollen and infected, because in those cases medicating the canal for a week gives a noticeably better result — we would rather do it properly than fast.
How long does a root canal last?
A well-done root canal with a properly fitted crown can last the rest of your life. The things that shorten it are: leaving the tooth without a crown, decay starting up again at the edge of the crown, and fracture. Brush and floss it exactly like a normal tooth — the tooth cannot feel decay any more, so you will not get a warning ache if a new cavity forms at the margin. Six-monthly check-ups catch that.
Root canal treatment at Abhinav Dental Care, Jabalpur
Root canals are handled at our Madan Mahal clinic by Dr. Anubhuti Shrivastava MDS and Dr. Abhinav Shrivastava MDS. We use rotary endodontic instruments, apex locators and on-site digital radiography, and all instruments are autoclaved between patients. If you are anxious about dental treatment, say so when you book — it changes how we pace the appointment, and it is a very common thing to feel.
If you have facial swelling or pain that is keeping you awake, call us rather than waiting for a convenient day. Infections that have reached the point of swelling do not settle on their own, and they get harder to treat the longer they run.