Root Canal Therapy
The only way to relief toothache is to have a root canal therapy and this entails removing the infected nerve from the tooth.
When do I need a root canal?
When your tooth develops an infection or gets inflamed, either due to extensive decay or trauma, it would normally become symptomatic and present itself as a toothache.
The tooth contains nerve fibres which when inflamed or infected cause a painful tooth. The only way to relief toothache is have root canal therapy and this entails removing the infected nerve from the tooth. If the infection in the tooth is not treated an abcess is normally formed at the root tips which can spread to the surrounding jawbone and can cause serious issues.
The aim of a root canal is firstly to relief pain but also to prevent the tooth from getting reinfected with bacteria again. Root canal therapy is performed either in a single visit or sometimes in multiple visits depending on the complexity of the case.
The downside of the root canal therapy is, it weakens the remaining tooth structure, making it more prone to fractures. This however, can be prevented by placing a porcelain onlay or full coverage crown on the tooth.
When can I not have root canal therapy?
Certain teeth that develop an abcess or inflammation of the nerve can not be treated with root canal therapy. The main reason for this is the teeth are to weak to be restored. There is not enough tooth structure left to restore the tooth adequately or in some cases the tooth has a fracture running through it which reduces the success of the root canal therapy dramatically. Some times it can also be purely based due to financial reasons. In cases like this the only option to relief pain is to remove the tooth. There are various options available today to replace a missing tooth.
