Why is a Root Canal considered ‘Therapy’?
There is nothing unpleasant nor more frustrating than tooth pain. Severe tooth pain often results in sleepless nights and is caused when there is inflammation or an infection in the roots or pulp of a tooth. During root canal therapy, an endodontist or dentist who specializes in treatment carefully removes the infected pulp inside the canal of the tooth, disinfects and shapes the root canals and then places a filling to seal the space. This procedure saves the tooth and immediately absolves the tooth pain problem.
Causes of Tooth Pain
Every tooth has a nerve, artery, vein and lymphatic system. When this becomes inflamed or infected, it causes pain. This inflammation or infection can be caused by deep decay, a chip or crack in the enamel of the tooth, or by a traumatic injury which compromises the blood flow and nutrition to the inside of the tooth. When a tooth’s nerve tissue or pulp is broken down or damaged, bacteria and other decayed debris can cause an infection or an abscessed tooth.
An abscess is a pus-filled pocket that forms at the end of the root of the tooth and if not taken care of soon enough can cause bone loss and severe swelling in other areas of the face including the neck or head.
Signs of nerve damage include pain, continued sensitivity to hot or cold, swelling and tenderness around the tooth and its neighbors. Sometimes the tooth will get darker and be asymptomatic and require a root canal due to impending pathology due to spreading of infection creating dead nerve tissue.
Does Root Canal Treatment Hurt?
It is your dentist’s responsibility to perform Root Canal Therapy effectively and without pain. The actual cleaning and shaping should not hurt. Nor will the steps of filling the space created after nerve tissue removal. How much discomfort you feel after therapy depends on how much swelling, inflammation, and spread of infection was present before therapy was started. In most cases, over the counter medications are effective post-operatively.
When Root Canal Therapy is completed:
All root-canaled teeth become dehydrated and dried out over the years and may need additional treatment. It is standard procedure to crown or cap all teeth that have had Root Canal Therapy. If this tooth already has a crown on it, it is up to you and your dentist to discuss the need to replace it. It all depends on the source of infection, its onset and the amount the damage done to the remaining part of the tooth.
Not All Teeth Can Be Saved
Root Canal Therapy is effective 92% of the time. Every tooth is different and can have variations and anomalies in the root tips that cannot be seen or felt by the dentist during therapy.
- A root can be fractured, we presently do not have the technology to repair split roots.
- The root may not be long enough or have too much bone loss and should not be saved.
- The remaining tooth may be so hollowed out because of decay that it will not hold up to normal daily use.
- If a tooth needs to be extracted, sometimes dental implants can be placed the same day in the same hole, with or without simultaneous bone grafting.
What If Root Canal Therapy Was Partially Effective But it Is Still Sensitive?
90% of continued sensitivity after Root Canal Therapy is from anomalies and variations at the root’s tip. A 0rocedure called an apicoectomy or root-end resection may be needed. This procedure is the physical removal of the root tip, scar tissue and infected bone. The resulting hole can be filled with bone grafting material and a membrane.
Sometimes different antibiotics are needed and more time to heal is required. Sometimes an area can be sensitive for months until the tooth feels like it belongs.
Visit a Root Canal Specialist
If you are in the Schenectady, New York area and you are experiencing tooth pain there may still be time to save the tooth. Contact the dental offices of Roy Oyangen and schedule a consultation today to possibly save the tooth and alleviate any further tooth pain.
