Providing South Vancouver with Root Canal Therapy and More
Historically, a tooth with a diseased nerve would be removed immediately, but in most cases, endodontists are now able to save the natural tooth. Generally, to do this, they would be extracting the inner tooth structures, then sealing the resulting gap with a crown restores health and functionality to damaged teeth. Endodontics is a specialized branch of dentistry that deals with the complex structures found inside the teeth, including dealing with a cracked tooth or a root canal. Providing patients in South Vancouver and surrounding areas, Acqua Dental Centre is the dental clinic to turn to—caring about your oral health matters to us!
Some Signs and Symptoms of Endodontic Problems
You may have an endodontic problem if you run into:
- Tooth discoloration
- Tenderness when chewing and biting
- Inflammation and tenderness in the gums
- Unexplained pain in the nearby lymph nodes
- Teeth that are sensitive to hot and cold foods
Furthermore, here are some of the main causes of inner tooth damage:
- Bacterial infections
- Fractures and chips
- Injuries
- Removals
Cracked Tooth
Cracked and fractured teeth are common dental problems, caused by biting on hard objects, trauma, grinding, and clenching of teeth. These behaviors place the teeth under extra strain and render them more susceptible to cracking. Cracks come in many forms, such as crazes, oblique root cracks, which may make you feel some discomfort, or unexplained pain when eating, or simply having sensitivity to warm and cold foods.
However, as the cracked tooth performs a biting action, the crack widens. The pulp and inner workings of the tooth then become exposed, and painful irritation occurs. As pressure is released again, the two parts of the crack fuse back together, and pain subsides. If left untreated, the pulp becomes irreversibly damaged and constantly painful.
In cases where your tooth root is affected, root canal therapy is the most viable treatment option. The pulp, nerves, and vessels of your tooth will be removed, and the resulting space will be filled with gutta-percha. A crown or filling will be added to stabilize your tooth, and it will continue to function as normal.
However, when the crack is too severe for the tooth to be saved, the dentist will perform an extraction, then you can rely on restorative options, such as bridges, dental implants and partial dentures, to restore your biting, chewing, and speaking functions.
Root Canal Therapy
When the nerve of your tooth is affected by decay or infection, you need root canal therapy. In order to save your tooth, the pulp (the living tissue inside your tooth), nerves, bacteria, and any decay are removed and the resulting space is filled with special, medicated, dental materials, which restore the tooth to its full function.
Having a root canal done on a tooth is the treatment of choice to save a tooth that otherwise would die and have to be removed later. Many patients believe that removing a tooth that has problems is the solution, but what they don’t realize is that extracting (pulling) a tooth will ultimately be more costly and cause significant problems for your adjacent teeth.
Root canal treatment is highly successful and usually lasts a lifetime. However on occasion, a tooth will have to be retreated due to new infections. You might need root canal therapy when:
- Injury or trauma to your tooth
- Decay has reached your tooth pulp (the living tissue inside the tooth)
- Infection or abscess have developed inside your tooth or at the root tip
Having a dental emergency? Need to speak to a dental specialist? Contact the friendly staff at Acqua Dental Centre today for guidance.
