Even after a tooth has been treated, the root can become inflamed. Tooth root inflammation is an unpleasant and dangerous condition that requires medical attention.
An inflammatory process occurring in the periodontal tissues that surround the tooth root is called periodontitis. There are several causes of the disease:
- Untreated caries
- Untreated pulpitis
- trauma
- Mistakes in the treatment of dental canals
The most common causes of root inflammation are And the problems associated with caries and pulpitis. In any case, the treatment should be carried out in several stages. If left to its own devices, this dental disease can cause serious systemic problems, so it is necessary to take root canal inflammation seriously.
What Causes Tooth Root Inflammation?
Although there are many effective therapeutic treatments for inflammation under the root of the tooth, it is not uncommon to resort to surgical methods of treatment. This is indicated in the following cases:
- A root canal obstruction has been detected
- There is a post or a core builder whose removal is impossible without damaging the root.
- There is a large number of cysts, either periradicular or growing into the maxillary sinus
- There is a perforation of the root wall or a cavity in the tooth
- application of conservative treatment methods of inflammation of the root does not help.
Important: Periodontitis most often refers to inflammation in the area of the root apex (apical, periapical periodontitis). The cause of root inflammation in this case is the untimely treatment of caries and pulpitis. Another type of the disease is referred to as marginal periodontitis periodontitis, in which the lesion extends to the gums in the cervical area of the tooth.
Symptoms and Treatment
Periodontitis can run in a chronic form and aggravate. The characteristic symptoms that are detected during examination at the dentist and as a result of the medical history differ depending on the stage the disease is in.
Exacerbation of periodontitis is characterized by the following signs and complaints on the part of the patient:
- Regardless of the time of day, a monotonous, uniformly strong, aching toothache constantly haunts the patient
- When the patient presses on the tooth, the pain becomes worse
- The feeling that the tooth has “grown” – it interferes and prevents the jaw from coming together, as any attempt to do so ends in a painful attack
- An accumulation of purulent contents provokes a throbbing pain that radiates down the branch of the trigeminal nerve
- Feeling is worsened, and weakness and fever occur.
- Submandibular lymph nodes may enlarge.
Exacerbation may be accompanied by serous and purulent discharge. With purulent periodontitis, the doctor first of all faces the task of releasing the pus: the tooth cavity is cleaned, the canals are treated.
Symptoms of inflammation of the tooth root in the chronic form are not so pronounced:
- The tooth does not hurt all the time, but unpleasant painful sensations arise when pressing
- A fistula can occur with frequently exacerbated granulomatous periodontitis. In this case, the exudate causes the tissue to melt and the exudate to come out through a hole in the gum at the apex of the root. In the remission stage, such a mass looks like an altered area of mucosa
- Bad breath (halitosis) is also a sign of chronic apical periodontitis. Caries-causing microorganisms destroy the tooth hard tissue, get into the cavity and cause tissue death in the pulp, which leads to an accumulation of necrotic masses that are the main factor of halitosis.
Chronic inflammation of the tooth root is treated conservatively in most cases, only in the most neglected cases is surgery appointed. Current standards of all medicine and dentistry in particular treat any disease as a complex, i.e. do not treat fistulas, cysts or granulomas separately. In the treatment of inflammation of the tooth root, antibiotics, painkillers, and other medications are used.
How to Relieve Pain Before Going to the Doctor
For any form of periodontitis it is necessary to make an appointment with a doctor, but often the painful tooth “does not want” to wait for an appointment and hurts unbearably. Painkillers can help relieve the pain. When you have tooth pain, experts advise you to take the medication that is best for you in such cases. The pill will not cure, but the pain syndrome will stop. This does not mean that you can postpone going to the doctor – after the end of the pill the pain will return, so a trip to the dentist should not be postponed or put off “for later”.
Periodontitis Treatment With Fistulas
The inflammatory process can proceed with complications, one of them is an odontogenic fistula. More often it occurs in granulomatous periodontitis. This is an opening in the mucosa, resulting from the growth of granulations and destruction of the tissues surrounding the tooth. Pus from the inflammation under the root of the tooth is released through the resulting fistula.
To some extent, the resulting fistula helps to reduce the pain experienced by the person: purulent contents are not retained in the tissues, goes out, making the course of the disease easier. But do not delay examining the dentist and prescribing treatment – it is fraught with the loss of the tooth.
The fistula itself will not disappear, the cause of the fistula – inflammation of the periodontal tissues – must be removed. The scheme of treatment of root inflammation in all cases is standard:
- thorough mechanical cleaning of the root canals
- disinfection
- temporary filling with a medicine until the disappearance of inflammation in the periodontium.
In severe cases excessively enlarged granulations are surgically removed.
How to Relieve Pain Before Going to the Doctor
For any form of periodontitis it is necessary to make an appointment with a doctor, but often the painful tooth “does not want” to wait for an appointment and hurts unbearably. Painkillers can help relieve the pain. When you have tooth pain, experts advise you to take the medication that is best for you in such cases. The pill will not cure, but the pain syndrome will stop. This does not mean that you can postpone going to the doctor – after the end of the pill the pain will return, so a trip to the dentist should not be postponed or put off “for later”.
Periodontitis Treatment With Fistulas
The inflammatory process can proceed with complications, one of them is an odontogenic fistula. More often it occurs in granulomatous periodontitis. This is an opening in the mucosa, resulting from the growth of granulations and destruction of the tissues surrounding the tooth. Pus from the inflammation under the root of the tooth is released through the resulting fistula.
To some extent, the resulting fistula helps to reduce the pain experienced by the person: purulent contents are not retained in the tissues, goes out, making the course of the disease easier. But do not delay examining the dentist and prescribing treatment – it is fraught with the loss of the tooth.
The fistula itself will not disappear, the cause of the fistula – inflammation of the periodontal tissues – must be removed. The scheme of treatment of root inflammation in all cases is standard:
- thorough mechanical cleaning of the root canals
- disinfection
- temporary filling with a medicine until the disappearance of inflammation in the periodontium.
In severe cases excessively enlarged granulations are surgically removed.
Methods of Treatment
As already noted, modern dentistry prefers conservative treatment. However, often without surgery, the full treatment of inflammation of the tooth root is not possible.
Conservative Treatment
It is a complex technique, including several types of measures:
carrying out mechanical cleaning of the root canals
Disinfection of the root canals with medication.
Temporary filling with medication
Conservative therapy includes the administration of antibiotics for inflammation of the root of the tooth.
Surgical Treatment
Refers to the carrying out of surgery:
- removal of 1/3 of the apex of the root
- Extraction of part of the root (hemisection)
- Tooth extraction from the alveolus.
Important: Doctors try to keep the tooth, using all currently available methods of conservative treatment, because it is successful in 70-90% of cases.
Stages of Periodontitis Treatment
How many times you have to go to the doctor for treatment of inflammation under the root of the tooth depends directly on the form of the disease, in remission or in the acute stage. The doctor’s chosen method also affects the course of treatment. Often, the therapy requires a course that consists of several stages of treatment and a visit to the dentist. Until the inflammatory process is eliminated, it is not possible to fill the tooth, so you will have to visit the dentist several times:
- The preparatory stage. Diagnosis of the condition of the root of the tooth with the help of X-rays
- By removing the old filling, the tooth is drilled out to allow access to the canals and remove the nerve
- The root canals are enlarged to the necessary size.
- Antiseptic treatment of the root canals, application of medication
- A temporary filling is placed
- At the next visit, the temporary filling is removed, and antiseptic treatment of the root canals is performed. This stage can last for weeks, and even months – the process will be repeated until the inflammatory focus is not eliminated completely, and the number of visits depends on it
- A permanent filling is placed, and the patient undergoes repeated X-rays for control purposes.
- In addition to the procedures at the clinic, the patient must undergo antibacterial and anti-inflammatory therapy. At home, he should do warm rinses with special antiseptic solutions (herbal, medicinal – as recommended by the doctor).
Complications of Periodontitis Treatment
No one is immune from complications at any stage of treatment – during therapy or already after the installation of the filling. They can be:
- perforation of the root canal walls
- Tool breakage during the root canal enlargement
- Pain from incomplete filling of the root canal or excessive application of the filling material and its protrusion beyond the root apex
- Chipping of the tooth under the gum due to weakening of the tooth walls.
Prevention
- Preventing any disease is easier than treating it afterwards. This is a true statement, so regular preventive dental check-ups should be a good habit. If you live in St. Petersburg, Krasnodar, Novorossiysk or Moscow you can apply to any branch of INTAN dentistry network for the best qualified help
- Also timely conducted treatment of caries and pulpitis will help to avoid periodontitis and related complications. The price of their treatment will be higher and it will take more time
- In case of acute inflammation of the tooth root, quick visit to a doctor and timely treatment will prevent from complications and will not let the process become chronic
- If caries is detected at any stage, it is necessary to visit the doctor as soon as possible, go for a check-up and the prescribed treatment (removal of damaged tooth tissue, filling)
- Compliance with hygienic rules (brush twice a day with a properly selected toothbrush and toothpaste, use dental floss)
- The diet of the patient is important. Dairy products and protein-rich foods, as well as fresh fruit and vegetables, should always be on the table. Keep consumption of sugary foods and soft drinks to a minimum.
- Visit your dentist every six months for a checkup and professional tooth cleaning.
Following simple rules of oral care can help prevent tooth root inflammation and all related problems.