Nothing is as good as a natural tooth! And sometimes your natural tooth may need Endodontic (root canal) treatment for it to remain a healthy part of your mouth.
Signs to look for include pain, prolonged sensitivity to heat or cold, discoloration of the tooth, and swelling or tenderness in the nearby gums. But sometimes there are no symptoms.
Tooth anatomy:
A tooth is made up of three main structures:
- The hard outer covering of ENAMEL
- The underlying layer of DENTIN
- A soft tissue - the PULP- that is comprised of the blood supply, and the nerve of the tooth, which is housed in the hollow root canal space.. The pulp partially nourishes the root from the inside.
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Infection of the pulp:
Sometimes the pulp inside your tooth becomes inflamed or infected. This can be caused by deep decay, repeated dental procedures on the tooth, a crack or chip in the tooth, or a physical blow (trauma) to the tooth.
In any other part of your body, if a similar tissue becomes diseased, the body merely throws it off and forms new tissue. However, a tooth is a unique and different situation.
Because the soft tissue within the tooth is totally encased within hard tissue, the body cannot get to it in order to effect a repair.
Treatment at our office:
It is our role at the office of Dr. William D. Bateman is to do what the body is unable to do.
Various procedures and technologies are used to access and remove the soft tissue located in the internal spaces (canals). Dr. Bateman removes the inflamed or infected pulp, carefully cleans and shapes the inside of the canal areas, then fills and seals the space.
When large amounts of tooth structure are missing or compromised due to the disease process, it may be necessary for us to place a post down into the canal space to function as an anchor for the new crown or cap that may be needed to fully restore the tooth.
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