That’s such a weird phrase. But it would actually really apply if this post was about veneers for your teeth, which are made out of ceramic materials.

Instead, I’m going to write about something a little more personal to me.

I was an orthodontic nightmare. I could have posted another throwback photo of myself, but we don’t need that. And braces for four years weren’t enough. One day in high school, long after the braces were off, I suddenly started experiencing the most acute pain of my life. As it turns out, my tooth was inflamed, and I needed a root canal at the tender age of 17. Something about a small defect in my tooth, a tiny hole that was always there and enough food and whatever accumulated over time and the bacteria caused inflammation. Oof.

So I got a root canal, and my doctor told me he had taken out all the stuff in my tooth – root, veins, everything. It’s called pulp. And he filled it with something-or-other that would protect the tooth, allow my tooth to serve its function of grinding up food, and gave me the sole disclaimer that my tooth would become grayer over time because it wasn’t alive. So cool.

But what really is in my tooth? I googled “root canal fillers” and came across this paper:

That’s a lot to read. I’m going to break it down.

The filler is made of a calcium silicate cement, mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) in particular, which is composed of di- and tricalcium silicate, tricalcium aluminate and tetracalcium aluminoferrite, and bismuth oxide. These compounds are hydrophilic and set after a hydration reaction. In terms of its biocompatibility, it’s bioactive with hard-tissue conductive and inductive properties. The paste has a high pH value after mixing and is maintained over time due to the constant release of calcium forming calcium hydroxide – this gives it antibacterial properties. Its purpose is to inhibit intracanal leakage, to seal the hole in the tooth, and to prevent any food or bacteria from entering and causing inflammation. It also protects the tooth from decay since there’s no longer any blood circulation there.

The next part is about how the tooth is being filled. During filling, you want to fill the tooth with as little and as few gaps as possible; after all, the whole reason why I needed a root canal in the first place was because there was inflammation from a small defect. That’s what the Gutta-percha cone is. Ultrasonic power is applied directly to the Gutta-percha cone so energy is transferred to the preplaced calcium silicate cement to achieve better filling quality with fewer voids. The ultrasonication is believed to generate compressive force that leads to rearrangement of the cement particles, facilitating the escape of entrapped air. Micro–computed tomography (μ-CT) scans and stereomicroscopic observation of mechanically sectioned specimens verified the validity of the methods.

 

I haven’t thought about it for a while, but I now remember the noise of the ultrasonicator when I was undergoing my root canal. I felt the pressure and the vibrations in my tooth, which is a very strange sensation. In any case, if you ever need a root canal either now or when you’re 60, this endodontic MTA and ultrasonicating with the Gutta-percha tube has got you covered.

sources: sciencedirect.com, osseodent.com