| When
the nerve of a tooth becomes infected, root canal treatment
can save the tooth. Signs of an infected tooth are heat and
cold sensitivity, swelling and pain, or a bad taste in your
mouth. Sometimes you may not experience any symptoms at all
and not realize that you have a dental problem.
When deep cavities allow germs to get into the pulp chamber,
an infection develops causing the pulp to die. The pus
from the infection eventually builds up at the root tip
and makes a hole in the bone.
This is called an abscess.
A blow to a tooth may also cause the pulp to die and then
become infected. An infected tooth will never heal by itself,
and as it gets worse, it will continue to be a source of
infection that weakens the immune system, thereby affecting
the entire body. This damage to the bone and the swelling
inside the bone can also be excruciatingly painful, and
even life-threatening. In the past, an infected tooth was
usually extracted, but today, the tooth can be saved with
root canal treatment. |
