What are the signs of Needing Endodontic Treatment?

Before any treatment is undertaken, it is important to know the causes that will lead an individual to undergo the treatment.

In this case, what are the signs of needing endodontic treatment? The answer is that any tooth involved in trauma may require endodontic therapy or a "root canal" including "avulsed" teeth, or teeth which have been knocked out. A root canal is necessary when the death of a tooth’s nerve occurs. However, the death of a tooth’s nerve is not always painful, and the patient may not experience any overt symptoms, sometimes for years. The reasons behind this situation are the virulence of the infection inside the tooth being low and the body's defensive mechanisms, while not being able to clear up the infection totally, being able to keep it in check. In addition, teeth that are extremely sensitive to cold, biting, or teeth which are abcessed may require root canal therapy.

Additionally, teeth that have been broken or teeth with large fillings that have come out could require this treatment, as well. The nerve tissues in teeth which have a history of having been traumatized, ie: being bumped in an accident, can deteriorate, leading to the need for root canal treatment.

It is always possible, however, that at some point the health of the tooth's nerve tissue will degenerate and subsequently die (often without symptoms). A tip off that the nerve tissue inside a tooth is undergoing degenerative changes is that the tooth, in comparison to its neighbors, can appear darkened.



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