Nobody looks forward to root canal treatment; in fact, many people would rather risk their good oral health than agree to the procedure. Unfortunately, this reaction is often related to a negative experience with a root canal that someone had decades ago.
However, everything about dentistry, from comfort to technology and techniques, has improved dramatically in recent years, meaning all the things you hated about root canals no longer apply.
Three Signs That Mean You Need a Root Canal
The only way to know for sure if you need a root canal is to make an appointment with your dentist for an evaluation. However, the following symptoms are a good indication of whether or not your tooth is infected:
- Severe pain – There are toothaches, and then there is the pain of an infected root canal. If your pain is so intense that you cannot function at all, there is a good chance you need treatment.
- A bump on your gum – A dental abscess develops when the nerve of a tooth is dead or dying. It starts at the tip of your tooth root, and, without treatment, the abscess spreads and may appear as a pimple on your gum.
- Tooth sensitivity – If you have an infected root canal, you may experience extreme sensitivity to touch or hot or cold temperatures.
Are Root Canals necessary
There are several reasons why a root canal might become necessary. Dental trauma, a fractured tooth, or decay that penetrates the inner portion of the tooth and reaches the pulp of your tooth can cause severe pain.
The only way to preserve the tooth at this point is with root canal treatment that eliminates the painful infection and saves the tooth from extraction. Despite what many people still believe, root canals do not cause pain; they relieve it.
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