I'm wondering what is the difference between a temporary and a permanent root canal?

Pain relief: In my practice, when a person needs a root canal and is in pain, i open up the tooth to expose where the 'nerve' is and place a sedative, calming medication with a temporary filling. This helps reduce pain until the root canal can be completed.

No such animal?: There is no such thing as a "temporary root canal". There is a difference between a temporary filling and permanent filling in a tooth having had root canal therapy. Sometimes we do a "pulpotomy" or "apexification" procedure and advise a patient they will need root canal therapy at a later date. You might consider this a "temporary" sort of rct, but it really isn't.