Introductory Chapter: Some Important Aspects of Root Canal Treatment

Abstract

Root canal treatment is one type of endodontic treatment. To understand endodontic treatment, it is important to know about the anatomy of the tooth. The lack of knowledge regarding morphological and anatomical variations of the root canal system can result in failure to identify all root canals and lead to inadequate instrumentation and consequent failure of the endodontic treatment. The external and internal morphological features of roots are variable and complex, and several classifications have been proposed to define the various types of canal configurations that occur commonly. Improvements in nondestructive digital image systems, such as cone-beam and micro-computed tomography, as well as the use of magnification in clinical practice, have increased the number of reports on complex root canal anatomy [2, 12]. Inside the tooth, under the white enamel and the hard layer of the dentin, there is a soft tissue called the pulp. The pulp contains blood vessels, nerves, and connective tissue and creates the surrounding hard tissues of the tooth during development (Figure 1). The endodontist removes the inflamed or infected pulp, carefully cleans and shapes the inside of the root canal, and then fills and seals the space. The endodontically treated tooth will receive a crown or other restoration to protect and restore it to full function [21]. A canal is considered well obturated when a radiopaque mass is visualized on the radiographs, being homogeneous and continuous, without voids, adapted to the lateral walls, terminating near the radiographic apex, namely 0.5–1 mm [16]. The principal stages of endodontic treatment are as follows (Figure 2):