Sometimes, the answer is painfully obvious.
If you feel:
- severe aching and pressure in your mouth that doesn’t go away
- noticeable sensitivity and swelling in your gums
DON’T WAIT — visit your dentist for evaluation and treatment right away!
From time to time, however, anyone may experience some degree of tooth discomfort. Not all of it is necessarily caused by problems in the root canal. For example, a short-lived sensitivity to hot or cold liquids or foods isn’t usually a sign of a serious problem — it may be a loose filling, a small area of decay or an exposed root surface. Likewise, tooth sensitivity that lasts for a day or two after dental treatment is often not harmful.
But sharp pain that occurs when you bite down, pain that lingers after you’ve consumed hot or cold food or drinks, or a constant ache from an area that’s hard to pinpoint may all be symptoms of infection or inflammation within the root canal.
When all the tissue inside your tooth (pulp chamber) dies, including the nerve, the pain may be acute, even excruciating! Many times, the pain goes away temporarily, but the infection does not. And when this occurs, you will need a root canal to treat the infection so that your tooth can be saved.
But now you may wonder, “what got me into this situation?”
- When decay reaches the pulp chamber, it frequently causes infection. The pulp (nerve) inside the chamber can die from a traumatic blow, recurrent decay, or when you have a large filling that breaks down around the edges or margins.
Only a dentist can tell for sure whether the pulp tissue deep inside the tooth is the cause of your pain — BUT if it is, a root canal procedure is a safe and effective way of relieving the pain and preventing further damage. If feel lingering pain, sensitivity to hot and cold foods, or sharp pain when biting down visit our dentist now at Finesse Dental and have it checked right away! Call us on 8824 4800.