What’s Inside a Root Canal and Why It Can Be So Deadly
A root canal is basically another way of saying a root filling. When a root canal is performed, the nerve, blood vessels, and immune support of the tooth are removed from the central canal in a tooth and then replaced with a root canal filling material called gutta-percha.
Gutta-percha is actually a purified latex that is taken from a tropical tree which grows in Indonesia and Malaysia. It is considered to be bioinert and is thermoplastic, meaning it can be heated to make it more pliable, and then it solidifies as it cools.
So what happens when this root canal filling material actually goes through the root and into the bone?
Is it still biologically inert? Experience with removing multiple teeth that have extruded gutta-percha through the root has shown us that the extruded gutta-percha creates a chronic localized inflammatory response that often turns into an infection.
This inflammatory response is due to the mechanical and chemical irritant provided by the extruded gutta-percha. The harmful stimulus at the tip of the root can not be removed without a surgical approach.
Although gutta-percha has been touted as being bioinert within the tooth root, it is actually a cytotoxic material to the bone and the periodontal ligament surrounding the root.
This means that gutta-percha is toxic to the supporting structures of the tooth, so if it is extruded through the root tip into the bone, necrosis of the periodontal ligament occurs, meaning the cells actually die.
Another concern about gutta-percha material extruded through the root tip is that it can carry infected material that was in the tooth canal, pushing it into the surrounding bone.
It basically deposits bacteria into the bone surrounding the tooth and can lead to undisturbed bacterial growth, resulting in an infection.