What is Root Canal Infection

What is Root Canal Infection
I woke up one morning to a nagging toothache. When the pain was
toomuch to bear I tried to self-examine my teeth but I couldn’t find
much. I had a general body weakness and I could feel swelling in my
gum with the tip of my tongue. The location of the swelling was my
lower gum on the left back. Probably the one supporting my left
molar teeth.
I tried some pain relief medicines but I couldn’t cope with the days
routine. I had to pay a visit to our family dental care. They do
general dentistry and provide affordable dental care. I had done a
lot of work in selecting them as my family dentists and I will do
anything to keep them.
The unique characteristics they have in delivering impeccable services
include the treatment of most dental problems like gum disease,
tooth decay, mouth sores, tooth erosion, tooth sensitivity, toothaches
and dental emergencies. they also provide additional dental services
like cosmetic dentistry and teeth whitening. All are an affordable
dental solution and they are open round the clock.
On getting to my dentist, he treated my case without delay as a
dental emergency. He had me checked and told me I had a root canal
infection. I didn’t understand but he explained everything to me in
detail and in plain words. Read on to discover what I learnt from him.
What is root canal infection?
Firstly, the root canal is the inner tooth that is situated between the
pulp and the tooth roots. Root canals have blood vessels that deliver
nutrients to your teeth and nerves keeping them alive and healthy.
When the root canal is infected, it becomes swollen and painful.
What causes root canal infection?
Root canal infection is caused by
several reasons. The penetration of
bacteria into the pulp is general to
all the causes. Dental decay,
cracked or damaged a tooth,
avulsed tooth, displaced tooth, abnormal tooth anatomy and
repeated dental treatment procedures are common causes of root
canal infection.
Associated symptoms
When you have root canal infection, you will start to feel like you are
ill, you will experience pain, you may have a fever, there will be
swelling and tenderness of the gum. The pain can be so severe that
you won't be able to sleep at night and cannot be easily eliminated or
suppressed by painkillers. The swelling can pronounce and can last
for days, even months. You will have a foul breath if pus is coming
out from the infected tooth. You can also develop a fever. Selfdiagnosis of root canal infection is discouraged. It should only be
done by your dentist.
Diagnosis and treatment
Diagnosis is performed using a combination of tools such as x-rays,
gum boil identification, tooth discolouration, tooth tapping, thermal
and electrical testing and selective anaesthesia. The aim of treatment
is to save your tooth and eliminate pain and infection. A root canal
dentist performs root canal therapy wherebythe nerve and pulp are
removed and the inside of the tooth is cleaned and sealed.