The role of channel four
An additional canal in the anterior buccal root of the upper molar occurs in more than half of the cases and easily goes unnoticed. It is the untreated fourth canal that most often turns out to be the cause of periodontitis in a tooth that has “already been treated.” They look for it under magnification and confirm it with a photograph.
What is periodontitis
Periodontitis is an inflammation of the tissues that surround the tip of the tooth root. It develops when the infection from the canal extends beyond its boundaries: most often it is advanced pulpitis or a consequence of poorly treated canals.
In the picture, periodontitis is visible as a dark spot at the apex of the root - the focus of bone destruction. It may not hurt for years and only worsens with a cold or stress, but all this time the lesion persists and grows slowly.
Why does treatment take place in several stages?
Unlike pulpitis, with periodontitis it is not enough to clean out the canal - you need to give the body time to close the lesion in the bone. To do this, the canals are temporarily filled with a paste based on calcium hydroxide: it disinfects the canal and stimulates the restoration of bone tissue.
After 2–4 weeks, the paste is changed or, if the inflammation has subsided, the canals are filled with permanent material. Therefore, the treatment of periodontitis is divided into separate stages - treatment, temporary and permanent filling.
Stages of treatment
- mechanical and medicinal treatment of canals - opening, removal of infected tissue, rinsing with antiseptics
- temporary filling of channels with calcium hydroxide - disinfection and stimulation of bone restoration
- permanent filling of root canals - hermetically sealed with gutta-percha with a control image
Forecast
With proper treatment, the lesion at the root apex shrinks within 3 months and in most cases completely closes within 6–12 months. If this does not happen, a surgical option is discussed - resection of the root apex.