What an Endodontist Treats
Tooth Pain
It’s possible for dental problems to arise even with proper brushing, flossing and regular visits to the dentist. Teeth can be damaged at any age, from decay, an injury or an infection.
If you have had a persistent toothache before, then you know how distracting, annoying, and debilitating they can be.
Experts at Diagnosing Tooth Pain
Endodontists can diagnose and treat oral and facial pain resulting from inflammation, infections, abscessed, cracked, dislodged or knocked out teeth. The earlier you address the symptoms and treat your dental problem, the better the outcome.
Dental Symptoms
- Dental symptoms that may require endodontic consultation are listed below:
- Thermal – exaggerated or lingering response to hot or cold stimuli.
- Biting or Chewing – The natural compression of the tooth while chewing should not hurt. If there is pain, this may indicate a current inflammation or infection within the offending tooth.
- Referred Pain – dental or tooth pain can often be referred to different areas of the mouth, from one jaw to the other, sinus area, jaw joint or temporomandibular joint (TMJ), and down the neck into the shoulders
- Spontaneous Pain – a range of dull ache/throbbing sensation to excruciating diffuse pain can all be caused a potential inflamed or infected tooth.
- Swelling – Swelling of the head and jaw region can often come from a dead or infected tooth. Proper and immediate consultation should be made, as swelling can spread to many critical areas of the head and neck region
- Tooth mobility – If the tooth feels lose, careful consideration should be made to determine the source of the mobility and the long term prognosis of the tooth
- Nonodontogenic Pain – lastly, there a variety of symptoms, issues, and diseases that can mimic tooth pain. Endodontists spend a great deal of time during their speciality education learning about these possible diseases that mimic tooth pain and learn how to properly diagnosis these issues.
- Tooth Inflammation - Every time a tooth sustains an insult (cavities, microcracks from normal wear, trauma, fillings/crowns, etc), the tooth responds by “insulating” or laying down additional tooth structure. Due to the tooth’s rigid environment, when the tooth can no longer “fix itself,” the tooth becomes irreversibly inflamed. This is the time in which intervention is necessary and is often accompanied by isolated and/or referred pain
