Your dentist may provide root canal therapy (RCT) to save a tooth if it is infected or has decayed.
The pulp (the soft center of your tooth) may have been damaged or the nerve may have been infected.
The procedure involves the removal of the nerve and pulp, and the inside of the tooth is cleaned and then sealed with a crown or a filling.
The nerve and pulp of your tooth can be inflamed or irritated by any number of possible causes. Tooth decay may have deeply set; you may have had too many repeated dental procedures on that tooth; or perhaps the filling is too large. You may have chipped or cracked that tooth, or have suffered physical trauma to your face which resulted to tooth damage.
It is possible that you may need RCT even though you do not show any symptoms. However, most people who need a root canal complain of the following:
- You get an extremely painful tooth ache when you chew or bite with your tooth.
- You feel pain when you have something very hot or cold in your mouth.
- Your tooth becomes darker in color.
- The gums near the damaged tooth are swollen or tender.
- There’s a pimple on the gums near the damaged tooth that comes and goes, or doesn’t disappear at all.
When you feel any of these symptoms, you need to call us to set an appointment for a root canal.
Root canal therapy has a 90% success rate, and after the procedure your tooth can last for a lifetime with proper care. Most of the time, those who are in need of RCT experience severe pain, so there’s no point in delaying setting up an appointment with a dentist when you can get pain relief today.
Remember that if you don’t get the appropriate treatment, bacteria can multiply in the pulp. The bacteria can trigger an infection or what is referred to as abscessed tooth. The infection in the root canal can cause swelling in other areas in your face and neck, and there may also be bone loss around the tip of the root.
Set up a dentist appointment today with Coastal Smiles to prevent these problems from occurring.