Pulpitis - "nervous" disease
It all starts with a small, almost invisible hole in the tooth, which you didn't even notice at first. And even if you noticed, then the trip to your favorite dentist is postponed for a week or another, and there life problems will twist, and … one night, you wake up from an acute toothache, which simply makes you knock on the dental office in the morning. And the doctor, having examined the oral cavity, announces: "Yes, you have pulpitis, my friend."
Pulpitis is a consequence of advanced caries, inflammation of the pulp (neurovascular bundle of the tooth). A characteristic sign of pulpitis is an increasing, throbbing pain in the tooth, especially pronounced at night.
Etiology (cause) of pulpitis
The inflammatory process begins due to the fact that food particles, pathogens, which provoke the inflammatory process, enter the tooth cavity formed as a result of advanced caries. Although in dental practice there are cases when the so-called. retrograde pulpitis, i.e. infection occurs through the apical opening of the root canal.
Pulpitis symptoms
Pulpitis, the symptoms of which are quite diverse, can be classified as follows:
Chronic pulpitis:
- fibrous chronic pulpitis - often occurs with the transition of acute pulpitis into chronic inflammation. It is characterized by the change from acute toothache to toothache arising from external stimuli. Attacks of dull tooth pain may occur. Fibrous chronic pulpitis can occur without the symptoms described;
- hypertrophic chronic pulpitis - most often occurs in young people and children with severe caries. It is accompanied by bleeding and painful sensations from mechanical stress;
- gangrenous chronic pulpitis - proceeds with rather strong painful sensations. At the same time, the affected teeth react sharply to hot temperatures.
Acute pulpitis is classified into two main types:
- focal pulpitis is the initial stage of pulp inflammation. The pain is short-term, intermittent, intensifies when exposed to stimuli.
- diffuse pulpitis is the most severe form. The painful sensations are sharp and unbearable. Pain resonance is possible in the temporal lobe, ears, orbit and in the jaws. Hot heat is irritating, while cold (such as water) dulls pain.
Pulp necrosis is an irreversible form of pulpitis. With her, the pulp completely dies off. Pulp necrosis can be a consequence of mechanical impact (shock), when the neurovascular bundle ruptures
Acute pulpitis, the symptoms of which are more pronounced, forces the patient to visit the dentist faster.
Pulpitis in childhood
The physiological characteristics of the child's body affect the clinic for pulpitis. Acute pulpitis in children, especially in teeth with immature roots, often has a purulent form and is accompanied by inflammation of the peridontium. Percussion of the teeth (tapping) is very painful. And at the same time, the mobility of the affected tooth is sometimes observed. Pulpitis in children, as a rule, proceeds and is treated in the same way as in adults. Collecting anamnesis is especially difficult because of the child's emotional perception of pain.
Pulpitis treatment
Pulpitis treatment is performed depending on the stages of the disease and the form of the disease. Modern drugs are able to preserve decaying tooth tissue at the initial stage of the disease with timely access to a doctor. In cases where the disease has gone far in its development, the doctor performs depulpation (removal of the nerve), followed by cleaning the canals and filling them.
If earlier dentists most often removed a tooth with damaged pulp due to a complex depulpation procedure, then today's methods of pulpitis treatment allow the tooth to continue performing its functions.
Today there are two traditional methods of pulpitis treatment:
Biological (conservative) - a method that preserves the viability of the dental pulp. As a rule, the biological method is used in case of accidentally opened tooth cavity, in traumatic pulpitis, in inflammatory diseases of the pulp. This method is most effective in the early stages of the disease. Biological method procedures:
- local anesthesia;
- removal of affected tissues;
- the use of a healing paste;
- filling
The application of the healing paste and filling can take place in one or two stages using a temporary filling. It depends on the degree and complexity of the damage to the tooth tissue.
The surgical method is the removal of the inflamed pulp, then the filling of the canal and the restoration of the tooth crown. In the surgical method, the following are used: the vital method of depulpation (under anesthesia) and the devital one, i.e. with preliminary killing of the nerve.
Methods for treating pulpitis are chosen by the doctor after carefully studying the degree of the disease.
The main way to prevent pulpitis is the prevention and timely treatment of caries in both adults and children.
YouTube video related to the article:
The information is generalized and provided for informational purposes only. At the first sign of illness, see your doctor. Self-medication is hazardous to health!
