"Why Would I Need A Root Canal?"

Oftentimes, we find it's a front tooth, and someone has been hit in the mouth years ago. It has just taken time for that nerve and tooth to slowly die, and unfortunately, abscess. That's one reason we see the need for root canals in teeth sometimes.

Another reason is if there's decay that reaches into the nerve of the tooth. That's what this cheesy cardboard cutout shows us. In this scenario, this tooth had decay that went all the way into the pink part of the tooth, as shown in the illustration. What's depicted on this yellow part of the tooth is that once the decay touches the nerve in any capacity, the nerve in that tooth is going to die, and eventually, it's going to abscess. This can happen right away, which is called an acute abscess, or sometimes it's a delayed response called a chronic abscess.

So, to answer this question, teeth that have dead nerves in them sometimes don't hurt, and that's a chronic abscess. If you come in with a toothache, it's called an acute abscess. Regardless of what it's called, if it hurts, it's something that we know how to take care of for you. If you have more questions about this, please don't hesitate to contact our office.