The short version
- By the time a root canal is needed, the tooth is already infected and dying.
- The alternative is not a healthy tooth. It is losing the tooth.
- Pain that lingers after hot or cold is the sign that matters most.
- Pain easing is not recovery. It can mean the nerve has died.
- A treated tooth becomes brittle and usually needs a crown afterwards.
- Purpose
- Clears the infection
- Keeps the tooth
- Yes
- Diagnosed by
- Symptoms and X-rays
- Afterwards
- Usually a crown
Tooth pain is tempting to wait out. It is the wrong instinct: pain is the signal that something is wrong, and the conditions that cause this particular pain do not resolve on their own.
What a root canal is
The term means two things, which is part of why it is misunderstood.
The root canal is the inner passage of the tooth, between the pulp and the root. It contains nerves and blood vessels. Once an adult tooth is through, the nerve’s only remaining job is sensing temperature and other stimuli.
A root canal procedure removes infected material from inside the tooth. The nerve is taken out, which is what removes the pain caused by infected pulp.
What it is for
By the time a root canal is needed, the tooth is already infected and dying. The procedure is not intended to keep it alive. It clears the infection and leaves the structure of the tooth intact so it can stay in place and keep working.
That is the point people miss.
The alternative to a root canal is not a healthy tooth. It is losing the tooth, and an infection that spreads while you wait.
Common causes: a tooth that has been damaged, has decayed, or has become diseased.
The five signs
Your dentist establishes this from your symptoms plus X-rays. These are the ones that bring people in.
- Pain that lingers. Usually the first. Pain that continues after eating or drinking something hot, pain that wakes you, or pain that has moved from sharp and occasional to constant and dull.
- Temperature sensitivity that does not settle. Brief sensitivity to cold is common and often means nothing. Sensitivity still present well after the hot or cold has gone is different.
- Pain on pressure. A tooth that hurts when you bite on it or press it, or hurts on release.
- Swelling or tenderness in the gum near the tooth, sometimes with a small bump. Swelling with a fever is a same-day call.
- Discoloration. A tooth darkening relative to its neighbors can indicate the pulp inside has died, and it can happen without any pain at all.
Any one of these is worth a call. Several together is worth one today.
The dangerous moment
Pain that eases on its own is the point at which people cancel the appointment.
It should be the point at which they keep it. The nerve dying removes the source of the pain while the infection carries on into the bone around the root. What follows is larger, more expensive and occasionally urgent.
Afterwards
A tooth that has had a root canal loses its internal blood supply and becomes more brittle. It usually needs a crown to protect it from fracturing under normal chewing.
That is why root canal treatment and crowns are so often discussed together, and why the crown is part of the treatment rather than an upsell. See what a porcelain crown is.
Do not wait it out
Sarasota Smile Design is on Clark Road in Sarasota, a short drive from Nokomis, Osprey and Venice. Open Monday to Thursday, 8am to 4pm.
Call 941-927-5411, or see dental crowns.
