When does a tooth need a root canal?

Answer 1

When the nerve of a tooth becomes infected, your dentist may recommend a root canal treatment in order to save the tooth.

How do you know if you have an infected tooth?
Some of the signs are:

. heat and cold sensitivity,
. swelling and pain,
. or a bad taste in your mouth.

Note: you may experience no symptoms at all and not realize that you have a dental problem.

The white outside portion of a tooth is called the enamel. Inside the enamel is another hard layer, the dentin. There's a small chamber at the center of the dentin called the pulp chamber. Inside the pulp chamber is the tooth pulp, a soft tissue made up of nerves, arteries, and veins. The pulp extends from the pulp chamber all the way to the tip of the root through a narrow channel called the root canal.

In general, teeth in the front of the mouth have only one root canal, while teeth in the back have two, three or four root canals.

Best Wishes,
Minh Nguyen, DDS
http://www.softdental.com

Answer 2

A root canal treatment is "basically" the act of taking out the contents from the center of the root, all the way to the tippy end, and then sealing the hollow space with a filling material. Many people say that they "had the root removed" from a tooth, but root canal treatment treats the CANAL in the center of the tooth.

Usually, it is required when the tissue inside the center of the tooth (ie: in the root canal) is diseased or dead. This is usually the result of an infection caused by tooth decay that has gone "all the way to the nerve." The idea here is to eliminate the infection by removing the tissue. The next goal is to smooth out the inside of the canal(s) so that a filling material can pass freely to the end of the tooth to seal it off. Once it is sealed off, it is no longer a source of infection to your body. Your natural immune system will continue to fight off any infection that may have entered the bone and eventually your body will heal. Some people need antibiotics to help in this fight, but they are not always necessary.

Any pain after the procedure is NOT from inside the tooth. It is from the swelling and infection in the bone at the end of the tooth. Taking the nerve out (or what remains of the nerve) is just done so that we can seal the end of the tooth so that the body can heal the damage in the bone. This takes a while. Root canal treatment is not a magic wand that instantly makes you feel better. It is just the first step in what will then allow your body to heal. The healing can take a while, especially if you had a good sized abscess on the tooth.

In back teeth, it is generally recommended to have a crown placed over the tooth to protect it from breaking, as teeth that have had root canal treatment tend to dry out somewhat and become more brittle and susceptible to breaking. Front teeth are often strong enough to go without a crown, but sometimes they need a crown, too.

Yeah, it can hurt, maybe 1 out of 10 times. That 1 guy where it hurts probably waited until the tooth was already really killing him before he went for treatment. I tell my patients that root canal treatments are like teenagers. 9 out of 10 are no problem at all, but you always hear about the bad ones.

Go here and click on the link about root canal treatment:

http://www.ada.org/public/games/animation/interface.asp

Answer 3

Your tooth has the hard outer level and the inside is called the pulp. The pulp holds nutrients to your nerve which runs down the root (part that holds your tooth to your gum). Inside the root is a nerve (or nerves). When the pulp is infected, that in turn, infects the nerves of the tooth. Which then, causes you to have an infection and causes you discomfort. If you need a root canal it is generally because of the pulp being exposed because of a deep cavity or lesion. When the doctor treats it, they will clean out the tooth and fill it with a material. After that in most cases, its smart to get a crown over that tooth. The reason for that is because when you have a root canal, a majority of your tooth structure is removed when removing the decay. After that, the tooth will be weak and a crown is to protect the weak tooth so it will not break over time!

Answer 4

Is it troubling you? Is the pain a pain and not a simple case of hypersensitivity?
when the caries goes deep and penetrate the pulp (tooth nerve) it infects the pulp giving you severe pain especially if the infection doesnt comes out .abcess builds pressure inside giving you pain , in this case your only recourse is to have root canal treatment to drain the pus out and finally save it from extraction. but why go for extraction if u can save your tootth?

Answer 5

one typical example would be when it is hollow and numb.....need to pull the root...a root canal ;)

Answer 6

There are multiple reasons. See the below link for accurate information.

Answer 7

Never. Just pull it.