A temporary filling material is applied between the visits. Leaky temporary filling will allow the root canals to move toward becoming reinfected by bacteria in the saliva. Khayat et al. demonstrated that all root canals obturated with gutta-percha and root canal sealer using either lateral or vertical condensation were recontaminated in under 30 days when presented to saliva. Therefore, maintaining a coronal seal all through root canal therapy is important for the accomplishment of the treatment.
The dentist may also evacuate only the coronal portion of the dental pulp, which contains 90% of the nerve tissue, and leave intact the pulp in the canals. This procedure, called a "pulpotomy", will in general essentially eliminate all the pain. A pulpotomy may be a relatively definitive treatment for infected primary teeth. The pulpectomy and pulpotomy procedures aim to eliminate pain until the subsequent visit for finishing the root canal procedure. Further events of pain could indicate the nearness of continuing infection or retention of vital nerve tissue.
A few dentists may choose to temporarily fill the canal with calcium hydroxide paste in request to completely disinfect the site. This strong base is left in place for up to seven days to disinfect and decrease inflammation in surrounding tissue, requiring the patient to return for a second or third visit to finish the procedure. There appears to be no advantage from this multi-visit option, be that as it may, and single-visit procedures actually show better (however not statistically significant) patient results than multi-visit ones. A root treated tooth may be eased from the occlusion as a measure to counteract tooth fracture before the cementation of a crown or similar restoration. Some of the time the dentist performs preliminary treatment of the tooth by removing all of the infected pulp of the tooth and applying a dressing and temporary filling to the tooth. This is called a pulpectomy.