If you are suffering from a decaying tooth then a root canal is the only answer.
A root canal is the treatment used to fix and save a tooth that is significantly decayed or infected.
During the procedure, the nerve and pulp are taken away and the inside of the tooth is cleaned and sealed.
The pulp or pulp chamber is the soft part within the centre of the tooth.
The tooth's nerve sits within the root canals and this lies within the roots of the tooth.
The root canals go through from the tip of the tooth's root into the pulp chamber, which also contains blood vessels and connective tissue that feed the tooth.
A tooth's nerve is not vitally important to a tooth's health and purpose after the tooth has grown through the gums.
Its only purpose is sensory, to provide the feeling of hot or cold.
The presence or absence of a nerve will not affect the everyday functioning of the tooth.
When nerve tissue or the pulp within the tooth is injured, it breaks down and bacteria start to multiply within the pulp chamber.
The bacteria and other rotting remains can cause an infection or abscessed tooth.
An abscess is a pus-filled pocket that forms at the end of the roots of the tooth.
If you are in need of a root canal then it will require several visits to the dental surgery and the procedure will be performed by a dentist or an endodontist.
The first step in this procedure is to receive an x-ray to view the shape and size of the root canals and to determine if there are any signs of infection in a surrounding bone.
You will receive anaesthetic to numb the area and the dentist will place a rubber dam around the tooth to absorb saliva.
An access hole will then be drilled into the tooth.
The pulp, bacteria and the decayed nerve tissue and other debris will then be removed from the tooth.
This is done by using root canal files.
Water or sodium hypochlorite is used to flush away debris.
Once the tooth has been carefully cleaned it is sealed.
Some dentists wait a week before sealing the tooth in order to allow potential infections to subside.
To fill the interior of the tooth, a sealer paste and a rubber compound called gutta percha is put inside the tooth's root canal and a filling is placed to fill the access hole.
Some teeth may need extra restoration and this is done by using a crown or an onlay and this protects it from breaking.