There are two main parts that make up each tooth: the root and the crown. The crown is the part that sits above the gum line and is usually visible when you smile. Both root rods normally have a root canal and the canal is where the main nerve tissue of the tooth is located. The root of the tooth is located below the gum line and contains the nerves of the tooth. Each root is surrounded by soft tissue commonly called the pulp. The pulp nourishes the tooth and must be kept healthy.
When the pulp or root is decayed or infected, a root canal can be done to help prevent further damage to the tooth. During the RCT procedure, the pulp and root of the tooth are removed and the inside is cleaned and then sealed to protect it.
Root Canal Causes
Many people believe that poor hygiene is the cause of all dental problems. This is just one cause of the root canal and wisdom tooth root canal. The fact is that we inherit our teeth from our parents, which determines whether we have hard or soft teeth. Soft teeth decay more easily than hard teeth and require very careful hygiene to prevent cavities and other problems.
- Tooth decay is the number one cause of root canals. As the cavity progresses into the pulp chamber (center) of the tooth, you will often feel tenderness when you drink something hot or cold. This does not automatically indicate the root canal. Sometimes simply removing the cavity and filling the cavity solves the problem.
If the decay has progressed too far, bacteria can enter the dental pulp and cause a root canal infection, better known as an abscess in the bone at the root end of the tooth, visible on an X-ray. Sometimes there are no symptoms because the
nerves can die slowly over time. This is one of the reasons dentists take x-rays during their routine cleaning appointments.
If left untreated, the abscess can grow and literally eat away at the jaw bone, causing pain and swelling. This can lead to systemic infection throughout the body that could reach the brain and lead to death. (It’s VERY rare but it has happened.) The only cure is a root canal or tooth extraction.
Another root canal cause is the old metal filling which will shrink over time and decay will begin under it undetected until you feel pain or temperature sensitivity.
- The second most common cause of root canals is tooth fracture caused by clenching or grinding your teeth, eating hard foods, or chewing ice cream. Your tooth may develop hairline fractures or cracks that allow bacteria to enter the pulp chamber and inflame the nerve or infect the tooth. You won’t be able to ignore the pain this can cause, especially if you bite into something hard and it increases the fracture. Chewing on the other side of the mouth is ignoring this problem, not curing it. Unfortunately, this is the route some people take until the tooth becomes infected or the pain is unbearable.
However, many doctors note that different people experience different degrees of mouth pain. The x-ray of teeth with an abscess that would cause most average people severe pain caused the patient to say it didn’t hurt at all! It is unbelievable and dangerous that some people can have serious dental problems and not feel severe pain.
- The third root canal cause is trauma. People who were punched in the mouth as children may have an infected tooth as an adult. Car accidents, work- or sports-related injuries, and falls those cause teeth to chatter can all cause nerve damage that may or may not show up right away.
Also, getting fillings deep into the tooth, removing old metal fillings and replacing them with composite (white) fillings, or drilling the tooth for a crown can be traumatic to certain nerves within the teeth and cause nerve
inflammation. Swollen nerves can sometimes calm down after a short time or be very painful and require a root canal or extraction to relieve them.
Root canal treatment
Root canal treatment, also called root canal therapy, involves removing damaged or infected nerves and tissue from inside the tooth.
Inside the root of each tooth is a nerve, with pulp surrounding and protecting the nerve and a blood supply running from the end of the root to the circulatory system. This space within the root is called the root canal space.
Root therapy involves drilling a small opening in the tooth, and removing the nerve, blood supply, and pulp. The canal is then cleaned, shaped, sterilized, and the root end and canal space are sealed with filling material, much like a cavity or hole in the tooth would be filled. A root canal is a repair inside the tooth and is the only alternative in case of damage to the internal dental nerve or dental abscess in addition to tooth extraction.
Root canal treatment allows you to save a tooth that would otherwise have had to be extracted. When there is an infection inside the tooth, there is no cure. The bacteria continue to spread to the nerve and surrounding tissues.
Many people wonder why medications, such as antibiotics, can’t cure the infection. The thing is, the tissues swell, cutting off the blood supply, so there’s no way to get the medicine to the area. Yes, they can help the surrounding tissues, but they can’t get to the inside of the tooth.
Without proper treatment, a diseased tooth will abscess and become a life-threatening situation. With his brain just inches from his tooth, there have been cases of systemic infection resulting in death therefore, to assist manage any discomfort and swellings, see your root canal specialist for a treatment plan.
