Dental Pulp Trivia | What is dental pulp and why is root canal therapy sometimes necessary?
Approximately 15 million root canal treatments (RCT) are performed each year. It’s no secret that this procedure can save your natural tooth by removing the infected pulp inside.
What is dental pulp you ask? Dental pulp is the center part of a tooth comprised of connective tissue, blood vessels, and cells. If this gets infected it may become painful and need root canal therapy to salvage the tooth. It is very important to have healthy pulp — please enjoy some fun dental pulp trivia!
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- Dental pulp is the portion of the tooth that is alive! The nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissues within the pulp are what feed your tooth vital nutrients to keep it healthy and functioning properly.
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- You might say dental pulp can serve as the mouth’s natural “alarm system.” If trauma or decay is present, the pulp will experience pressure and sensitivity which you’d then perceive as pain. It is the initial warning that something may be wrong.
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- Pulp is responsible for aiding in the formation of dentin. Dentin is what gives your tooth its color. It is located beneath the hard translucent surface of your tooth (the enamel.) Dentin protects the pulp from being compromised.
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- Pulp is a vital part of tooth development. However, once a tooth has fully matured, it can survive without pulp, but not with infected pulp. A matured tooth can get its nutrients from the surrounding tissue. This is why root canal therapy can be a successful treatment to salvage a tooth with a pulp infection.
- Gum tissue that is weakened by periodontitis, gingivitis, etc. can eventually cause pulp to become infected. Contrarily an untreated pulp that is infected can also spread and cause gum disease.
We hope these fun dental pulp facts helped to explain the important role dental pulp plays in overall oral health and how root canal therapy is a truly important procedure! Dr. Hochberg & Dr. Diora are both available to answer any additional questions if you find yourself in need of a root canal treatment.
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