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Dental Pulp and Related Problems

2013 October 8
by admin

Your local Burton and Ashby dentist discusses root canal treatment

Essentially, the structure of a tooth consists of three main parts. The outer one of these is the one best known to the general public; the enamel. This is a very hard exterior surface which offers a significant amount of protection for the interior of a tooth.

Underneath the enamel is a layer called dentine. This, whilst not as hard as the enamel, is also strong and helps to give the teeth the strength and integrity needed for them to fulfill their purpose.

Lesser known though, by the general public, is that at the core of the tooth lies a soft centre which is often referred to as the dental pulp. This section of the tooth contains the tiny blood vessels and nerves which give the teeth their sensitivity. Although this part of the tooth is where pain is most often felt when problems occur, without this sensitivity, we would have little sense of the amount of pressure we were putting on our teeth and therefore breakages would occur quite frequently.

Dental Decay

When we eat too many acid producing foods or neglect to clean our teeth well (including flossing) the enamel of our teeth comes under attack and will eventually decay. Once this outer protection has been compromised, there is an increased risk in the inner pulp becoming infected by bacteria and it is when this happens that pain is likely to be felt as the nerves are contained in this area.

In some cases, the infection of the dental pulp caused by bacteria may lead to a dental abscess which can be extremely painful indeed; a patient who has an abscess will, at the very least, notice a significant increase in sensitivity of the tooth which will cause discomfort when eating.

Root Canal Treatment

When the inner pulp has become infected, the only current effective treatment is to remove it. In cases where an abscess has formed though, this has to be treated first by the use of antibiotics before any procedure can go ahead. Once it has been ascertained that no abscesses are present, a root canal trained dentist will remove the top of the tooth and then clean the infected pulp from the tooth before filling it and then replacing the top of the tooth with a crown for additional strength. Despite myths to the contrary, this procedure is usually no more uncomfortable than a filling.

After Root Canal

Once the treatment has been carried out, a tooth that has had a root canal procedure will be unable to feel any pain as the nerves have been removed. This does not mean though that it should not be looked after as it is still vulnerable to decay of the enamel and dentine and could break. In fact, the tooth is unlikely to be as strong as a natural tooth so extra care needs to be taken.

The Future of Endodontics

For those with a fear of root canal surgery, there may be some good news to come. Researchers have had some success with experiments using stem cells to regrow the infected pulp. This research though is at an early stage and it is likely to be some way off before this procedure is seen in dental practices in the UK.

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