Culpeper Dental Associates
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Request an Appointment
  • Meet the Doctors
  • Meet the Staff
  • Print Forms
  • Our Services
    • Bridges
    • Composite Resin Filling
    • Cosmetic Teeth Whitening
    • Dental Implant
    • Dental Lasers
    • Dentures
    • Lower Partial Dentures
    • Porcelain Crown
    • Root Canal
    • Scaling and Root Planing
    • Extractions
    • Upper Partial Dentures
    • Veneers
  • Directions
  • Virtual Tour
  • Helpful Resources
    • Diagnosing Periodontal Disease
    • Digital X-Ray Technology
    • Intraoral Camera
    • DIAGNOdent
    • Nitrous Oxide
  • Testimonials
  • Write a Review
  • Pay for Services
540-825-2444 | 800 Sunset Lane, Suite B, Culpeper, VA 22701

Root Canal Diagnosis


The visible exterior layer of a tooth is called the enamel. Beneath the enamel is another hard layer, called the dentin. The dentin surrounds a small chamber at the center of the tooth that contains the pulp. Tooth pulp is a soft tissue made up of nerves, arteries, and veins. The pulp extends from the pulp chamber down through narrow channels, called the root canals, to the tips of the roots.
Picture
Layers of a tooth

Picture
Infected pulp
Picture
Infection spreads
How Did my Tooth Become Infected?

The two most common causes of the infection in the pulp are deep cavities and fractured or broken teeth.  Both expose the pulp to bacteria that live in saliva.  These bacteria, which are always present in your mouth, can cause an infection that can kill the pulp.  Without treatment, the pus from the infection can eventually gather down at the root tip and pass into the jaw bone, causing an abscess (a pusrocket).  The abscess can then damage the bone that surrounds the tooth.  The resulting pressure inside the bone and ligaments surrounding the tooth can cause excruciating pain, and left untreated, can even be life threatening.  

Symptoms Vary

You may have realized that you had an infected tooth because it was sensitive to hot and cold, was swollen and painful, or had given you a bad taste in your mouth.  On the other hand, you may have been completely unaware that you had an infection because you experienced no symptoms at all.  

Root Canal Treatment

An infected tooth will never heal on its own, as it gets worse, it will continue to be a source of infection that depletes your immune system, which can affect your entire body.  Years ago, your only option would be for us to extract the tooth.  But today, we can remove the infection with root canal treatment, and save your tooth.

Picture
© 2018 Culpeper Dental Associates.  All rights reserved  |  Contact  |  Request an Appointment