7 Things You Should Know About Endodontics
If you have pain or sensitivity in any tooth or dental piece, it may be necessary to attend your dentist to perform a root canal. Endodontics, or nerve treatment, is one of the main ways to save a tooth in bad condition and avoid its extraction, so we leave you with 7 things you should know about endodontics.
What is endodontics?
Endodontics or also known as nerve treatment, is a branch of dentistry dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the dental pulp, which is commonly called nerve.
The dental pulp is a soft tissue inside the tooth that contains nerves and blood vessels, and is the cause of tooth development.
The process is an intervention that is performed to try to preserve a tooth that would otherwise have to be extracted.
It consists of removing the pulp tissue, which is inside the tooth roots, to maintain the tooth and its chewing function.
Endodontics is performed on teeth whose pulp is infected or dead due to deep decay, in order to save the tooth.
The root where the dental pulp is located is cleaned using files and other instruments specially designed for this purpose. It is then filled with a substance that prevents germs from remaining inside.
Symptoms of needing root canal treatment
1. Tooth sensitivity:
Tooth sensitivity may be an indication that the tooth enamel is worn away. Usually sensitivity to heat or cold are key indicators of a cavity and possibly the need for a root canal.
It is common for people to feel tooth sensitivity sometimes when drinking hot or cold beverages, however, if you have a lot of sensitivity without even putting anything in your mouth, you may need to visit your dentist.
2. Pain when chewing:
The fact that chewing hurts is an indication that there is a problem. Even if with the naked eye you can't see any alteration in your teeth or gums, but you still feel pain or discomfort when you eat, it is a possible indication of the need for root canal treatment.
3. Reddening of the gum:
It is common that even when a filling has been performed, the gum surrounding the tooth feels more sensitive, even the gum covering the tooth becomes red and may even bleed.
If there is also a small pimple or nodule at the base of the gum near the tooth, the risk of infection is highly probable.
4. Bad breath:
If there is an infection affecting the root of your tooth, the infection can create an abscess with pus that will generate a strange taste in your mouth as well as halitosis. Halitosis is commonly known as bad breath or bad taste in the mouth.
Endodontics provides the ideal cleaning and treatment to overcome these two uncomfortable symptoms.
Things you should know about endodontics
1. Prior to nerve or endodontic treatment, it is important to know the patient’s medical history to avoid the risk of infection and to know the medications that may be prescribed after treatment.
Diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, complex interventions or allergies to medications are some of the pathologies that you should make your dentist aware of.
2. The isolations of the teeth to perform an endodontics are usually made with a material that carries latex, so it is important that you make this known in case you are allergic.
3. Teeth with crowns apply for root canal treatment, however, it is possible that they may have to be removed or cut through in order to get to the root. Prior to any dental treatment, it is important that your dentist performs a thorough analysis of your mouth to avoid these situations.
4. Prior to an endodontic treatment, at Lamicq Dental Care we perform a plaque where you can know the complexity of the case because sometimes where the piece is very damaged, it is not possible to save it and must proceed to an extraction.
5. The success rate of endodontics is 98%, that is to say, it is most likely that an endodontic procedure is required only once in the affected tooth.
6. After nerve treatment, there may be sensitivity to touch that may last a few days while the intervention site heals. Prescriptions are often written to avoid these symptoms.
7. At Lamicq Dental Care, we advise eating soft foods after root canal treatment to ensure proper healing and avoid any type of fracture of the treated tooth.
Endodontics in Costa Rica
As with any dental treatment, it is important to always know your dentist or the specialist who will perform the nerve or endodontic treatment because if it is performed incorrectly, it can lead to further complications.
Costa Rica is known for having a high level of dentists and odontologists in the specialties of dentistry, including endodontics.
At Lamicq Dental Care, we have more than 10 years performing endodontics in all regions of Costa Rica and we are always proud to have “a good hand” guaranteeing a successful treatment or intervention and a quick recovery avoiding unnecessary inflammation.
Emergency root canals in Costa Rica
Root canals are one of those treatments that are sometimes urgently needed because of extreme pain in a dental piece.
Clearly we must avoid going to an extreme so that the pain is not bearable, however, on these occasions or situations, in Lamicq Dental Care we offer emergency treatments with previous appointments that you can make to our WhatsApp.
Just contact us and solve your emergency as soon as possible!
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2. Dolor al masticar:
Masticar no debería representar molestia alguna si tu dentadura está sana. El hecho de que te duela el masticar es indicativo de que hay algún problema.
Incluso si a simple vista no logras divisar ninguna alteración en tus dientes o encías, pero igual sientes dolor o molestia cuando come, es un posible indicativo de necesidad de endodoncia.