We know the pain in your teeth could make you want to scream off your head especially when you feel like it is making your jaws feel like a laced three-story building. Sometimes in your assumption, we feel the teeth have no remedial action and opt for extraction without necessarily wanting to hear from the dentist. Take a pause, have you heard of a root canal treatment right? Well, we know that you haven’t considered it as an option, maybe because the cost of a root canal treatment may be alarming! Before we go all about the cost of a root canal treatment, let’s tell you a little about the procedure, what a dead tooth means, a little about dead nerve in the teeth, and also the pain management procedure if you consider having one.
What Is A Root Canal Procedure?
Let us clarify the fact that the root canal is a part of the tooth. While root canal procedure/treatment is the act of helping you remove bacteria from the root canal. This act is often carried out to save the tooth or help control infection on the tooth. Whenever a root canal procedure is carried out the tooth is cleaned, clearly disinfected before sealing again. You don’t need to panic if your dentist mentions that you would need a root canal treatment. You can save that tooth and make it healthy again. The tooth is made up of many structures, inclusive is the enamel. Beneath this enamel is a hard layer known as dentin and a soft layer called the pulp. The tooth cannot survive without the pulp.
In the past a root canal treatment has several phases, however, these days, you can make do with at least three dental visits. The procedure is likely termed in the same way as a normal routine filling. It is important to note that a root canal procedure is relatively painless and extremely effective. Instead of extracting that tooth, a root canal procedure treatment has plenty of advantages including
- Saving that tooth
- You can chew perfectly fine.
- Protects other teeth from excessive wear and strain
- Help maintain your facial shape.
The Cost of a Root Canal Treatment
Having explained what a root canal procedure entails, the cost of a root canal procedure is relative. This is dependent on the number of teeth to be extracted, your choice of the dental clinic, and the location of the dental clinic. However, the cost of a root canal varies from hundreds of thousands of naira to millions. It may seem relatively expensive, nevertheless, we think you should calculate the cost of extraction and the cost of tooth replacement.
Dead Tooth.
The three layers of the tooth include the enamel, dentin, and pulp. To help the teeth function, the pulp is supplied with blood daily and also the innermost part of the teeth including the nerves and blood vessels. In a case when blood supply is cut off, the tooth would begin to die. When this happens the tooth becomes dead, i.e nonvital. When left untreated, it would become infected, possibly containing abscess, and may fall off on its own if not properly treated.
What Causes Dead Tooth?
- The decay of the tooth.
Decay occurs when you neglect your oral habits. It doesn’t occur spontaneously but tooth decay is best described as the gradual deposition of dirt on a particular spot. The tooth pulp would do its bit to fight off infection but as long as the surrounding tissue is passing through a crisis, the pulp may likely lose its strength. We hope that when you think of the cost of a root canal treatment, you would totally understand that dentistry is not expensive but neglect.
2. Tooth Trauma
A fall or an accident occurring may cause a large effect on your teeth. Though the teeth may look healthy, there are possibilities that the supply of blood flow has been cut off. The discovery of this may take a long while unless the patient is rushed to the dental clinic.
Symptoms
If you suspect you have a dead tooth, there are two main symptoms to look for:
Pain: Discomfort in and around the tooth is usually the first indicator that you have a dead tooth. The pain can be minimally irritating to downright excruciating. This is caused by the infection and swelling inside the tooth that puts pressure on the periodontal membrane, the sensitive nerve tissue around the base of the tooth.
Discoloration: A tooth that is dying or dead changes colors due to the lack of blood supply and is similar to a form of bruising. The tooth may turn different colors as it dies, going from yellow to gray, and eventually to black.
As the tooth becomes more infected or abscessed, you might encounter additional symptoms including:
- Swelling of the periodontal membrane around the tooth
- Bad taste in your mouth due to infection
- Bad smell coming from your tooth
- Inflamed sore on the gums indicating an abscess
