Root Canal Therapy and Fractured Teeth
If you have had an injury that cracked your tooth, it may be time to see a root canal professional. A fractured tooth can cause symptoms such as sudden pain to erratic pain. Temperature extremes can make the pain worse. The pain can come and go, so a root canal professional may have trouble finding the cause.
What causes pain with fractured teeth?
Knowing more about the tooth can help patients understand where the cause of the pain comes from. The tooth has a layer of enamel on the surface with a softer layer of dentin underneath. The pulp is under both of these layers. This is where the blood vessels and nerves are.
If the two outer portions of the tooth are fractured, the pieces can move. This can irritate the pulp of the tooth. The irritation will cause the pulp to be damaged. If the pulp is only slightly damaged, it can heal itself. However, as the irritation continues, the pulp will no longer be able to self-heal.
At first, only chewing will cause pain. However, as the damage progresses, the tooth can become sensitive to cold and hot. Over time, the tooth will hurt for seemingly no reason. The pulp can become infected and the bacteria can spread to the nearby tissues.
A root canal professional can locate the cracked tooth and design a treatment plan based on this. Because the problem will grow worse with time, treating the tooth quickly is vital. The outcome will be better if the root canal professional can treat it immediately.
Treating fractured teeth
A fractured tooth often has a crack that extends toward the root. Diagnosing this early is important. If the crack extends into the root, even a root canal professional cannot treat it. The crack may extend toward the tooth’s pulp. If this has happened, the endodontist can perform a root canal to remove the infected pulp. Then the patient will receive a crown.
Another type of fracture is a split. This is what a cracked tooth can become without treatment. The segments of a split tooth are often separated. An endodontist cannot save an entire split tooth. But saving even part of the tooth is better than an entire extraction.
A root canal professional may remove the separated part of the tooth. To save the remaining sections, the endodontist can remove the pulp with root canal therapy. Then the patient will receive a dental crown to restore the look of the tooth. The dental crown will also serve to protect the tooth from further cracking.
Visit a root canal professional today
The good news is that after you get root canal therapy, your tooth will most likely function normally. You can have many more years of pain-free chewing. If your tooth can be saved, a root canal professional can do it. Remember that acting quickly is the key to treatment and saving your tooth. There are restorative options available, such as crowns.
Request an appointment here: https://www.sheats-endo.com or call Sheats Endodontic Group at (615) 526-2495 for an appointment in our Nashville office.
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