root canal
- Noun:
- A dental procedure: A "root canal" is a dental treatment to repair and save a badly damaged or infected tooth. The procedure involves removing the infected or inflamed pulp from inside the tooth, cleaning and disinfecting the interior, and then filling and sealing it.
- The natural cavity within a tooth: The term also refers to the natural, hollow part in the root of a tooth that contains the pulp (nerve tissue, blood vessels, and other cells).
Noun (Procedure): My dentist said I need a root canal to save this tooth. The root canal was successful, and the pain is gone.
Noun (Anatomical Part): The infection spread into the root canal. The dentist carefully cleaned each root canal in the molar.
"To undergo a root canal": To have the dental procedure performed. She had to undergo a root canal last week.
"Root canal therapy": A more formal term for the root canal procedure. The endodontist specializes in root canal therapy.
- Root canal treatment: Another common term for the procedure.
- Endodontic treatment: The professional/medical term for root canal therapy, from the dental specialty of endodontics.
- Pulp chamber: The space in the crown of the tooth that connects to the root canal(s).
- Endodontic therapy: The formal synonym for the procedure.
- Pulp removal procedure: A descriptive synonym focusing on the main action.
"As much fun as a root canal": A common idiom used to describe something very unpleasant or painful. That meeting was about as much fun as a root canal.
"To need a root canal": To require the dental procedure. If the cavity reaches the nerve, you will need a root canal.
-
the passage in the root of a tooth through which its nerve and blood vessels enter the pulp cavity
