The dental pulp is the inner core of the tooth that is composed of blood vessels and nerves. Since the pulp is located at the root of the tooth, a serious infection to this part of the tooth can lead to total loss of the affected tooth. Here are two important things you should know about dental pulp infection:
Antibacterial Treatment Won't Help
Some parts of the body can heal themselves after an infection, but the pulp is an exception. Therefore, although antibacterial treatments are usually used to fight bacterial infections, the treatments won't work on an infected pulp.
The reason for this is that antibiotics only work if they can reach an infected site through the blood. For a pulp infection, the offending bacteria are in the root canal system. Blood supply to the root canal reduces considerably when the pulp is attacked by bacteria. This means your pulp can't receive enough antibiotics to fight off the infection. Therefore, if your tooth pulp has been damaged by an infection, you either have to extract it or have an endodontic treatment.
Absence of Pain Is Deceptive
Irreversible pulpitis is a severe inflammation of the pulp. It can be caused by different things, such as a deep tooth cavity, decreased blood flow to the pulp, and any damage that leads to a bacterial infection of the pulp.
It is called irreversible pulpitis because nothing can be done to treat it once it happens. The only course of action is to extract the affected tooth or have a root canal treatment. The surprising thing about irreversible pulpitis is that although it may cause tooth pain or sensitivity, at times it might not produce any symptoms at all. Sometimes you feel pain at the onset of the infection, but the pain disappears when the pulp gets damaged and dies.
Therefore, just because your teeth aren't sensitive or painful doesn't mean you have perfect dental health; you may be slowly losing a tooth without knowing it. This underscores the need for regular dental checkups; the dentist may discover something, such as an early-stage infection, that you may not realize at home.
Take care of your teeth via impeccable oral hygiene and regular dental visits. If you do develop a pulp infection, don't resort to home treatments because they may not reach your dental pulp. Rather, consult your dentist to see whether you can save the tooth or whether you need to extract it and get an implant. For more information, hop over to this site.
Share12 April 2016
Toddlers should see a dentist for the first time by the age of twelve months or by the time their first tooth comes in. But if you are a parent with toddlers anything like mine, the prospect of going to the dentist (let alone anywhere!) can be pretty intimidating. My kids were a handful growing up. They had tantrums any time we would have to sit in a waiting room, and they refused to get in the dentist's chair during their first few visits. So, I had to employ a professional to help me make the transition to finally getting them in that dental chair without all the screaming and crying. I know I'm not the only parent in this situation, so I decided to share the information I've learned with others who can use a little help. You can find all my advice right here on these pages!