What Are the Symptoms of Dead Teeth and How to Get Pain Relief?

Professionals at the dentist’s office near you will advise you to care for your teeth, so they remain healthy and attractive. They also provide various treatments to ensure your teeth are in good condition. However, your teeth can die if you ignore their instructions or recommendations. Continue reading to learn the symptoms of a dead tooth and how to relieve pain.

What Is a Dead Tooth?

Teeth consist of hard and soft tissues. The soft tissues are located inside the tooth and are known as the dental pulp. They are made up of blood vessels that supply blood to the tooth and nourish it. Also, they consist of nerves that alert you of an issue causing pain in the tooth.

If your tooth gets damaged due to dental trauma or has deep cavities, the tissues in the pulp are affected. Damaged or diseased pulp tissues cannot self-repair like other tissues in the body. Instead, they will deteriorate and eventually die.

For instance, when your tooth cracks the blood vessels can get injured, affecting blood flow to it. Therefore, the tooth will not receive nourishment and will die after a while. In addition, the crack can allow bacteria into the pulp, causing infections in the nerves and blood vessels. If left untreated, the infected tooth will die.

What Are the Symptoms of a Dead Tooth?

Below are some signs that show you have a dead tooth.

1. Tooth color change

Continuous blood supply to your dental pulp helps keep your teeth white. If interrupted, your teeth will not receive the necessary nourishment and will discolor. Discoloration in a dead tooth is uniform, unlike that from regular staining. Also, the tooth cannot be easily whitened.

A dying tooth may appear yellow or light brown in the initial stages. But, the discoloration increases over time as the dental pulp tissues continue to die. Eventually, the tooth will become grey or black.

2. Tooth pain

This is a possible symptom of a dying or dead tooth caused by damaged or diseased tooth nerves. You may experience pain in the tooth when chewing or biting. The range of discomfort varies with the individual. Some feel intense pain, while others experience mild pain.

The pain hardly eases when you use pain medication. You must visit the dentist for treatments that provide tooth nerve-dying pain relief

3. Tooth Sensitivity

When the nerves inside your tooth get damaged or infected, they send pain signals to your brain. This usually occurs when you take hot or cold foods and drinks or open your mouth when the temperature is low. The pain or discomfort is known as tooth sensitivity and indicates a dying or dead tooth.

4. Bad breath and taste

When the tissues in the tooth pulp are damaged or infected, they start to decay. As a result, you will have a foul odor from the affected tooth, causing bad breath. In addition, infections in the pulp can cause pus to accumulate on the gums near or inside the tooth. Therefore, you will have bad taste in your mouth as the pus oozes from the area.

5. Swelling around the gums

An infected tooth will cause the gum tissues to become inflamed. As a result, they will swell and become tender to the touch. Also, the infection can form small but painful pus pockets in your gums. This usually occurs in a dead wisdom tooth.

Treating a Dead Tooth

There are two treatments experts at a dentist’s office near you provide for dead teeth. They depend on the extent of damage the tooth has sustained. The dead tooth treatments are:

• Root canal treatment. It is a procedure performed by a dentist to remove dead or infected nerves and blood vessels from the tooth pulp. The expert will clear the infection and restore the tooth with a dental filling and a crown.
• Dental extraction. This option involves completely removing a tooth from its socket. It is performed when the tooth is severely damaged and cannot be restored.

Conclusion

A dead tooth affects your dental function, smile, and quality of life. So, it is crucial to see a dentist immediately after you notice the signs of a dead or dying tooth. Contact us at Pleasure Dental if you are concerned about your damaged, decayed, or dead tooth. We will provide various treatment options for tooth nerve-dying pain relief.