Let’s take a look at what root canals are, why they become necessary, and how you’d know if you might need one.
How Root Canals Work
To start, the innermost layer of a human tooth is the pulp. This material includes tissues, nerves, and blood vessels, all of which act together to nourish the tooth.
Unfortunately, dental pulp can get damaged. And, in such situations, patients often receive root canals.
What happens during a root canal? In essence, a dentist does four things to complete this procedure:
- Takes out the pulp
- Cleans and disinfects the inner part of the tooth
- Fills the tooth
- Seals the tooth
With all of that in mind, how can you tell when your dental pulp is damaged? Well, there’s no way to know for sure without seeing a dentist. However, the following signs often suggest that something’s wrong with tooth pulp.
1. Tooth Pain
If you ever suffer tooth pain, don’t delay going to an affordable dentist.
Keep in mind that tooth pain comes in different forms. It might be constant, or it might be off and on. And people feel this pain in different places. Yes, you might feel it in your tooth. But it could affect your gums, jaw, or face instead.
If you experience any of these types of pain, you might need a root canal. And, even if you don’t, you may need medical attention for a cavity, an impacted tooth, gum disease, or another issue.
Also note that, if you ever have unbearable and excruciating tooth pain, you should go to an emergency dentist immediately.
2. Painful Eating and Brushing
In some cases, pain only occurs when a tooth makes contact with something. It might hurt whenever you eat, brush or floss your teeth, or touch a certain tooth. If so, you might require a root canal.
That’s because a nerve could be impaired, the tooth might be decaying, or the pulp might be dying.
3. An Injury
Tooth injuries sometimes call for root canals. Maybe your tooth trauma was caused by biting a piece of hard candy. Perhaps you were hit in the mouth by a baseball or hockey puck, or you accidentally walked into a pole. Or it might’ve been something else entirely.
In any case, if you think your tooth may have been damaged, definitely visit your dentist.
After all, a crack or a chip in a tooth could let in harmful bacteria. In turn, those microbes could cause a serious infection.
Furthermore, just because you don’t see a crack or a chip doesn’t mean the accident didn’t harm your tooth. For instance, you may have hurt a nerve, which could then lead to aching and inflammation.
4. Temperature Sensitivity
Maybe you’ve been experiencing this situation: You take a bite or sip of something hot or cold. Then you instantly feel discomfort in your teeth or gums. The pain might be intense or dull, but it’s certainly annoying.
Either way, a damaged nerve or blood vessel inside a tooth could be causing it. Thus, you might need a root canal to fix the issue.
5. A Loose Tooth
Do you have a tooth that’s loose, and you don’t know why? A nerve might have died inside it. And that death may have led to a chain reaction, one that requires a root canal to solve:
- First, acidic waste materials were released.
- Second, those waste products softened the bone surrounding the tooth’s root.
- Third, the tooth loosened.
6. A Discolored Tooth
Dark tooth discoloration, like tooth pain, can have numerous causes. They include the following:
- Poor dental hygiene
- Liver disease and other disorders
- A lack of calcium
- Stains from food, drinks, or tobacco
In some cases, though, a discolored tooth is a sign that it’s time for a root canal. There might be a pulp infection, for instance, or the pulp may have died.
7. Swollen Gums
When your gums swell, it might be time for a root canal. That’s because when pulp tissues die, they produce waste materials that can inflame the gums.
A tooth infection could also lead to a gum boil — a small pimple — on top of the swelling. Such boils can cause bad breath, a lingering foul taste, or pus leakage.
As with tooth pain, your gums might be swollen all the time or just occasionally. Also, your gums might hurt when you touch them or hurt even when you don’t touch them. Or they might not hurt at all even though they’re swollen. In any event, your family dentist should examine your gums when they swell.
Finally, every type of dentist can perform a root canal — a general dentist, cosmetic dentist, pediatric dentist, and so forth. Therefore, whenever you experience one or more of the above symptoms, there’s no reason to fear.
Your tooth’s interior will be in good hands with an outstanding family dentist Cheney, Liberty Lake, and Colfax. And a highly beneficial root canal could soon be in your future.
