What happens when you need a root canal

How long does it take before you need a root canal? Does a tooth always hurt when you need a root canal? What are the signs that a root canal is needed? How do you know if you need root canal treatment?

A root canal is a treatment used to repair and save a tooth that is badly decayed or becomes infected.

During a root canal procedure, the nerve and pulp are removed and the inside of the tooth is cleaned and sealed. Without treatment, the tissue surrounding the tooth will become infected and abscesses may form. When you undergo a root canal or other endodontic treatment, the inflamed or infected pulp is removed and the inside of the tooth is carefully cleaned and disinfecte then filled and sealed with a rubber-like material called gutta-percha. Root canals have blood vessels for delivering nutrients to teeth and nerves that identify various influencing factors, such as col heat, and pressure.

Many patients often ask: “ When would I need a root canal, and is it necessary to remove a nerve in cases where I only have a toothache? All these aspects are tightly connected.

The causes could be deep tooth decay, repeated dental procedures on one tooth (replacing a large filling, for example), or traumatic damage such as a crack,. Infections usually occurs due to an injury , a chip or crack in the tooth, or a severe, untreated cavity. A severe infection can result in a tooth extraction procedure which will later require more oral surgery with the placement of a dental implant or dental bridge.

Root canal treatment may not be required for weeks, months or even years. As a result, root canal treatment will be required. You see, by the time that a dentist suggests a root canal (again presuming they are correct in their prognosis), the infection has been destroying the integrity of that tooth for quite some time. If you neglect treatment of a root canal problem long enough, you’re at serious risk for losing the infected tooth.

And tooth loss, once it starts, can bring on a host of other problems — like an increased risk of tooth decay on remaining teeth, as well as gum disease, bite problems… an as oral health problems escalate, even more tooth loss. Root canal treatment is necessary when the pulp (soft tissue inside your teeth containing blood vessels, nerves and connective tissue) becomes inflamed or diseased. The pulp chamber and root canal (s) of the tooth are then cleaned and sealed.

With the procedure, you can save your tooth and your smile. In severe cases, the dental pulp will fail to recover and ultimately die. So, the effort it takes to recover from such a ‘position of compromise’ takes diligence.

Root Canal Treatment Can Save the Tooth. Root canals are needed for a cracked tooth from injury or genetics , a deep cavity, or issues from a previous filling. The pulp is made up of nerves, connective tissue, and blood vessels that help the tooth grow. Patients generally need a root canal when they notice their teeth are sensitive, particularly to hot and cold sensations. In the majority of cases, a general dentist or endodontist will perform a root canal while you’re under local anesthesia.

The inside of the tooth has been scraped out, leaving the outer shell of the tooth dry, brittle, and prone to breakage. That’s why a root canal procedure requires a second procedure shortly afterwards: A crown. A rubber like filling material is placed to fill the root where the dead tissue and bacteria once were.

If the dentist is accurate about the ‘ need ’ for a root canal (which we’ll address below), are you willing to do what it may take to keep the tooth? You see, there are many stories of people successfully ‘chasing back’ the need for a real root canal without getting the procedure. Root canals have been, and continue to be, a conventional, or standard of care, procedure done by a dentist or an endodontist. Back grinding teeth, molars and premolars, typically need a dental crown after a root canal. The statistics on this page document that this is actually a fairly common situation.

Root canal therapy is sometimes needed for teeth that have already had a dental crown placed on them. And in these cases, the question then becomes. If the tooth is asymptomatic I would think about having it restored right away. The longer you wait the more at risk the tooth may fracture and require removal.

Typically the tooth after a root canal can become more brittle and fracture easier than before, this is encouraged when there is lot of missing tooth due to the large decay that was removed.