Cyst at the root of the tooth
Often, coming to the dentist, a person hears an unfamiliar diagnosis: a cyst on the tooth root. What is such a cyst, why does it arise, is it dangerous, and what to do with it? Let's talk about this in more detail.
A cyst is a neoplasm, which is a cavity with dense walls, usually filled with fluid, although there are other "fillers", such as mucus. A cyst at the root of a tooth can be thought of as a small ball that forms on the outside of the root in the jaw. The reason for its formation is a chronic inflammatory process in the periodontium - the tissue located between the root and the jaw bone. Inflammation of the periodontium is called periodontitis, one of the variants of the course of chronic periodontitis and is a cyst on the root of the tooth.
On an x-ray, a root cyst appears as a dark circle at the apex of the root. However, in fact, this neoplasm is not at all so harmless, because in essence it is nothing more than an inflamed tissue that has invaded the bone. If measures are not taken in time, the cyst on the root of the tooth grows, "pushing" the bone tissue with its rather dense fibrous walls. Under the pressure of a growing cyst, the bone is absorbed, in medicine this condition is called "bone resorption".
Bone defect is not the only consequence of cyst growth. We remember that a cyst is not just a tissue, but an inflamed tissue, that is, it contains components of inflammation, including an infection. Therefore, the cyst is quite capable of festering periodically, causing severe toothache, fever and other symptoms of an infectious disease. The infection can spread along the bone, infecting it and surrounding tissues, which threatens with serious complications: osteomyelitis, abscess or phlegmon of soft tissues.
What to do to prevent the development of the disease? It is necessary at the first symptoms of a cyst on the tooth root to consult a dentist. The first symptoms of a cyst are the same as with periodontitis. This pain when biting on a tooth, as a rule, is dull and not constant. The treatment in this case is the surgical removal of the cyst. Sometimes for this purpose it is required to remove the tooth itself, sometimes to resect the root apex with a cyst. The decision is made by the doctor depending on the stage of the process.
The best prevention of a tooth root cyst is a timely visit to a doctor at the first symptoms of pain in the teeth, and preventive examinations at the dentist held twice a year. In this case, the cyst has no chance of developing.
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