Most people think that the tooth is completely solid. Then how does it feel pain? The pulp of the tooth actually contains soft tissues. It contains the nerves and blood vessels that supply nutrients to the tooth and keep it alive and healthy. This is the very same reason why a solid structure like the tooth can sense pain and be hypersensitive to hot and cold temperatures. The pulp and the structures inside it can be damaged by tooth decay, trauma, and manipulation of the tooth. Once damaged, the pulp can become infected. Unless treated, this infection may cause the nerves and blood vessels to die. It can even progress into an abscess. An abscess is a localized collection of pus.
There are several signs and symptoms of infected or dead pulp for Jupiter area patients. The most common would be a toothache. Of the kinds of body pains that everybody encounters, a lot of people would attest that toothaches are one of the worst and that they would never want to encounter it again. This is caused by irritation of the nerves or by inflammation inside the tooth canal. Pain could be elicited by chewing or grinding. Contact with hot or cold food or drinks may elicit pain as well. It may be felt in the surrounding areas of the tooth. The pain can also become persistently present even without any eliciting factors, metaphorically saying that he’s there, he’s a problem, and he’s not going away.
A tooth with an infected pulp may not always manifest pain. This is especially true when the nerves in the canal are already dead or dysfunctional. Aside from pain, other signs and symptoms could include discoloration of the tooth due to the lack of supply of nutrients from the diseased blood vessels. The tooth may become loose. Tissues surrounding the tooth may bleed. In more morbid situations, the area may develop an abscess. The abscess may be localized and appear as swelling of the gums at the base of the tooth. If the abscess has spread to the surrounding tissues, a significant portion of the face can get swollen.
When these signs and symptoms appear, it may mean that the tooth pulp is infected or dead. This also means that there is a need to perform root canal treatment. Root canal treatment is also known as endodontic therapy. This treatment is readily performed in Jupiter, Florida. It involves the removal of the infected pulp including the nerves and blood vessels. The canal which is emptied is then irrigated with solutions that wash out the debris and disinfect the emptied space. That space is then filled with inert filling materials. Your dentist can perform this procedure relatively pain-free and in a matter of 1 to 2 hours. The end point of it all, of course, is to cure the infection and save the tooth.