Sometimes teeth develop nerve problems. These can result from tiny cracks in the tooth, trauma, or deep decay. If a patient is experiencing pain or swelling, root canal, or endodontic, therapy may be recommended. Many patients would like to...
Experiencing an abscessed tooth years after you've had a root canal can be a puzzling and alarming experience. You assumed that the root canal and crown took care of the initial problem. This is not always the case, though. That tooth may still be...
The exterior of a tooth is a hard surface called the enamel. Another layer called dentin is beneath the enamel. The dentin surrounds a core area of soft connective tissue, blood vessels and nerves. This core is called the pulp. It extends from the...
An infected tooth can cause pain and swelling of varying degrees. Management of most cases is relatively simple, while others are severe enough to require hospitalization and the administration of intravenous drugs. Fortunately, the majority of...
A tooth infection can be an extremely painful problem that can result from poor dental hygiene and lack of proper dental care. Typically, tooth infections are treated with prescription antibiotics and root canal procedures. Garlic may also be...
Be it a constant ache or a sharp twinge you feel as you take a sip of iced tea, any toothache is distracting, maddening and potentially serious. A few over-the-counter drugs or herbs might provide you some relief, but if you want to fully...
Understanding the procedure of a root canal operation helps with recognizing symptoms that appear after the procedure is performed. Teeth have several parts. The white outer surface of a tooth is called enamel. There is another hard layer called...
An infected tooth requires immediate attention from a dental professional to prevent the loss of the tooth and other complications. Knowing the signs of an infected tooth can lead to early treatment and resolution of the infection. A tooth can...
A root canal can save a tooth when infection or inflammation affects the tooth's nerve. The center of each tooth is filled with a soft substance called pulp, which contains connective tissue, nerves and blood vessels. When the pulp is injured or...
Tooth decay, cracks, trauma, fillings and crowns can lead to inflamed dental pulp. This soft tissue contains blood, nerves and connective tissue inside the tooth. Untreated inflammation of the pulp can lead to necrosis that produces an infection...
In the early stages of tooth decay, bacteria dissolve the enamel, or hard surface of the tooth, creating small holes, or cavities. Cavities that are left untreated can cause an infection where pus forms at the site of the damaged tooth, according...
A tooth abscess is the result of a bacterial infection. When trauma or decay damages a tooth, it leaves an opening in which bacteria can enter. If the tooth becomes infected, a pus-filled sac develops that is actually a collection of the bacteria,...
The upper teeth lie in close proximity to the maxillary sinus, eyes, ears and temperomandibular joint. These can make it challenging to differentiate between pain that originates in the teeth or in some other source. Trained medical and dental...
The teeth are made up of calcified tissue that surrounds the tooth pulp, made up of nerves, blood vessels and cells. Each tooth is surrounded by a periodontal ligaments and gums that help support the tooth, and each tooth is embedded into the...
After you've invested time and money in a dental crown, you may find it hard to believe that a toothache could develop---especially if you had no discomfort before placement of the restoration. But this is a common dental condition, and a...
A severe toothache can begin at any time of the day or night. There may be some warning signs leading up to a constant and throbbing pain; however, it can also wake you during the night with no prior warning at all. There are several reasons a...
Beneath the hard outer structures of a tooth lies a small quantity of soft tissue known as the dental pulp. This tissue contains blood vessels, nerve fibers and connective tissue that build the tooth during its development, according to the...
The teeth consist of a very hard outer enamel layer, an inner calcified dentin layer that supports the tooth and an inner pulp layer, make up of cells and nerve tissue. The structure of the tooth can decay over time as a result of exposure to...
Most of us at one time or another suffered the discomfort of a toothache. Who can forget the throbbing pain when eating or when a hot or cold liquid makes contact with your tooth's nerve? The worse type of dental pain results from infection or...
A tooth can begin hurting quickly without any apparent reason. Tooth pain can also develop gradually after a period of mild sensitivity. The severity may reach a point where relief becomes necessary to carry out normal everyday tasks. Treatment...
Drinking a cold beer could intensify the pain, but the drink causes no harm to an abscessed tooth. Beer offers no benefits for a bad tooth, either. If you're suffering from an abscessed tooth, the infection could worsen and spread to other parts...
Many mistakenly believe that getting a filling or crown will prevent a tooth from having problems in the future. Possibilities for a toothache to develop years after receiving dental treatment exist because of the anatomical complexities of a...
A diseased dental pulp within a tooth can cause a severe toothache and result in an abscessed tooth. Plaque accumulating outside the tooth can cause a gum abscess with pain and swelling. At one time, a diseased tooth required extraction, according...
Some throbbing toothaches occur suddenly and without warning. Others begin as a slight sensitivity and become increasingly painful over days or weeks. According to the American Dental Association, people experiencing toothaches turn to dentists,...
Molars are the largest teeth in the human mouth. They usually have two or more roots, and the large chewing surfaces make them ideal for chewing food. Normally, a person has 12 molars, but extraction is not unusual for the four third molars, or...
Our teeth are held in place by roots attached to our jawbone. Some teeth, such as our front teeth, have only one root, while larger back teeth, such as molars, have two or more. Sometimes, these roots become so infected that an abscess forms. A...
Bacteria are unicellular organisms that are so small their presence often goes undetected by the human eye. However, a healthy human mouth is abundant with a variety of bacteria, some of which are beneficial and others that are detrimental. Saliva...
Everyone wants a nice smile. A person's teeth are one of the first things that get noticed. Just like adults, children may become embarrassed and self-conscious by yellow or discolored teeth. The American Dental Association notes that no matter...
The American Pregnancy Association states that you should go for regular dental cleanings during pregnancy. Seeing your dentist for an exam and your hygienist for cleanings might help prevent decay, infections and other dental problems that can...
