Signs You May Need A Root Canal

It might all start with a slight sensitivity to hot or cold foods and drinks, but it goes away pretty quick. Next, that twinge of pain might stick around for a little longer, but you can just dull the pain with ibuprofen, right? It’s easy to ignore the signs of a tooth infection to the point that it develops into a cavity so bad that a root canal is necessary. Pretty soon, the pain will get so bad that it keeps you awake at night for hours.

Handling Dental Pain

Pain is one of the best ways for your body to tell you that something is wrong. While mild pain and sensitivity can be easy to ignore, it doesn’t mean you should. If you are proactive about the signs that your body is giving you, you can avoid costly and invasive procedures as well as more severe pain. If you ignore the mild pain from your teeth, the pain will gradually grow to be more severe. It is best to have your dentist check you out even at the beginning of sensitivity to hot and cold foods.

What is a Root Canal?

Many people associate the pain that they experience to the root canal procedure itself. That is just not true. The root canal procedure is done to remove the damage to your tooth and the pain that is associated with it. While there can be great pain, the pain is coming from the cavity that has made its way all the way to the root of your tooth. During a root canal procedure your dentist will drill a small hole in the top of your tooth down to its root to remove the injured area, or pulp. Once that is done, a temporary filling will be inserted into the empty space left behind to restore the strength of your tooth.