Endodontics or root canal treatment is a complicated dental procedure that involves cleaning infected or inflamed root canals and filling them with special materials.
Inside every tooth there is soft tissue or pulp, which also contains nerves and blood vessels. Soft tissue may become infected or inflamed due to various reasons. If this happens, the affected tissue and bacteria must be removed manually or chemically, and the hollow space must be refilled in order to get rid of the infection and prevent further decay.
Caries caused by bacteria is the main cause of pulp inflammation. If caries is left untreated, it will expand and eventually reach the soft tissue and cause inflammation. Inflammation of the soft tissue and the need for root canal treatment can also be caused by dental trauma or some other dental defect.
What are the most common complaints?
In case of soft tissue inflammation, the patient may experience hypersensitivity to cold or hot irritants. Additionally, spontaneous, sharp or dull pain may be felt in the affected area. It is common for pain to appear or increase in the evening or at night.
If the inflammation has become chronic, the pain may be absent, but the inflammatory process continues, frequently resulting with the impairment of the jawbone as well.
If you experience toothache when biting, there is a high probability that the soft tissue of your tooth is inflamed and you require root canal treatment.
Evaluation of patient complaints, x-ray imaging and various sensitivity tests are common procedures used to diagnose soft tissue inflammation.