Is Your Tooth Infected?
Root canal infection symptoms range from mild to severe and may become more intense the longer you live with the discomfort. You may feel pain after eating hot or cold foods, which could linger for 30 seconds or more. The pain may feel like constant throbbing or pressure on your tooth, in which case eating and chewing might aggravate the tooth even more.
A dental visit is necessary to treat this kind of tooth pain. Without treatment, the infection could progress, causing swelling of the gums and sensitivity. In some cases, you may have an abscessed tooth and require root canal treatment immediately.
Rarely, a tooth may show no symptoms at all and still need a root canal. Your dentist may notice discoloration of the tooth and suggest an X-ray to examine the root tip area. In this instance, it's possible that a mouth injury has traumatized the tooth. Most often, root canals become necessary after an untreated cavity has caused deep decay in the soft layer in the center of the tooth, a condition called pulpitis.