Endodontic therapy or root canal therapy, is a sequence of treatment for the pulp of a tooth which results in the elimination of infection and protection of the decontaminated tooth from future microbial invasion, which if left untreated will cause more complications like abscess formation and further decay and total loss of the tooth. This set of procedures is commonly referred to as a "root canal". Root canals and their associated pulp chamber are the physical hollows within a tooth that are naturally inhabited by nerve tissue and blood vessels. Endodontic therapy involves the removal of these structures, the subsequent shaping, cleaning, and decontamination of the hollows with tiny files and irrigating solutions, and the obturation (filling) of the decontaminated canals with an inert filling such as gutta percha.