Is a Root Canal Needed?
How do you know if you need a root canal? That is the question. Chances are, if you're reading this right now, and somewhat curious about what a root canal is, you may already have some of the telltale symptoms.
Consider the tooth's anatomy first. The tooth is a living part of your body. It's not as static as you may have thought. Though the outside is tough as nails, the inside consists of a soft, pulpy material known literally as the pulp. The pulp is soft blood rich material that nourishes the tooth's connection to the gums. The gums supply blood, lymphatic fluid, and other essential life fluids to the pulp via the root canals. Each tooth has one or more tooth canals that keep it alive.
The tooth canal is a thin conduit that is like a root in many ways, hence the name. Whether because of disease or an injury, your root canal can become infected. Once infected, the roots can never fully heal due to the inaccessible nature of the root. No amount of antibiotic can properly treat the area surrounding the root canal.
The symptoms of an infection are rather straightforward. Blood flow to the region of an infection always increases. You will notice an increased feeling of pressure and temperature. Often a throbbing kind of pain can emerge, much like that of an impacted wisdom tooth. The infected tooth becomes extremely sensitive to chewing, hot and cold drinks, and may give you headaches.
Gum Abscess Or Nerve Abscess?
Teeth are "tough" on the outside, but inside they have a soft core called a nerve chamber. This inner core is made up of nerve tissue and blood vessels that feed the nerve. Serious irritation of the nerve can be caused by deep decay; or perhaps having a deep filling as a result of that decay, or an injury to the tooth. If a nerve degenerates completely the tissues die and gangrene develops. The nerve chamber may also become infected in some cases. This condition, a devital (de-vitalize, 'dead' ) nerve, usually leads eventually to infection with its resulting pain and swelling. We must be very careful to point out here, however, that just because pain and swelling occur does not necessarily mean a root canal is required.
Literally millions of root canals have been done when in reality there was no need for this procedure. This is because the dental profession frequently misconstrues gum tissue abscesses as being nerve abscesses. Gum tissue infection can be healed and the problem might be resolved without having a root canal. The biggest problem here stems from the dental profession's over-zealousness in prescribing root canals. There is obviously some economic pressure behind this zeal: Dentists' motive in prescribing the root canal is certainly at least in part because they are expensive. On the other hand, a gum abscess can generally be cleared up either by cleaning out the space where the infection exists --which the patient, in most cases, can do for himself if told how --or, in more serious cases, by judicious use of an antibiotic. Either way it is far less expensive, more simple and probably better for natural long-run health than the root canal alternative.
New Jersey Dentists Brian P Trava DMD, SuJean Oh DDS, Alison Petix DMD, and Christopher Bauer DMD: Endodontists - Providing dental services in endodontics (root canal dentistry) to the communities of North Jersey, New Jersey (NJ).
290 LaFayette Avenue Hawthorne NJ 07506 | Ph: 973.423.0789
31 Sherdan Avenue, Ho Ho Kus, NJ 07423 | Ph. 201.251.8131
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