Teeth have a hard, durable outer enamel and a soft tissue on the inside. There are few options available besides pulling the teeth out once the decay breaks through the enamel and infects the tissue. Go to regular dental checkups to maintain your oral health and to avoid this kind of a disaster.
How Do I Know If I Need a Root Canal?
Check the state of your teeth by doing these three tests yourself:
1. Does you teeth/tooth hurt at random times, including the times when you are not using them (other than eating, talking, making oral movements)?
2. Does it hurt when you apply pressure to them (clenching teeth, chewing food, etc.)?
3. Does drinking cold liquid change the feelings to the teeth?
If you are able to feel the cold drink on the other teeth but not on the set of the affected teeth, the chances are that you need a root canal done. If you feel pain on pressure only, the chances are that you need a root canal as well.
Other indicators for root canal include a hole (black spot) in a tooth and a stinging feeling on the affected tooth that indicates infected nerves. The surest way to identify a breach and an infection through the enamel is to take an x-ray and actually locate the breach.
Do not be afraid of getting a root canal done. In most experiences, people say that it is not that different from getting a filling done. Dentists will use a needle to inject an anesthetic that will dull away the pain, too. If you are afraid of needles, ask them to use gas instead or find a dentist that does gas treatments.
As for the duration of the treatment, it varies per specific case. Most root canal treatments are done in one visit to the dentist. The reason for variations in treatment time is the variation of the extent of the inflection and/or the fact that some teeth have more roots than others.
Additional Help
If you feel like you need professional help on figuring out if you need root canals, TalkLocal can help with finding the correct local experts in this case, saving you time and energy in what may be a stressful situation.
