Root of Pain
By Dr. Linda Niessen
Monday, August 26, 2002
STORY: ROOT OF PAIN
SCRIPT # 476 SHOOT: 7/31/02
AIRDATE: Monday, August 26, 2002
![[Image]](../Images/pain_2.jpg)
For a year, Karen Bianco put up with a sensitive molar. It first started to hurt when she chewed food. Then it was sensitive to heat, cold and then exposure to the air.
"Finally when it became sensitive to breathing air on it, I knew I needed to get some treatment. My dentist recommended that I have a root canal done." How Karen described her pain to her dentist made a difference. When she complained of sensitivity to heat, that provided the major clue in making the diagnosis. If you feel pain drinking your morning cup of coffee, that means the pulp of a tooth may be damaged.
If pressure causes pain, the diagnosis could be different. "It means that the ligament of the tooth is inflamed as a result of the pulp dying." Dr. Hedley Rakusin is an endodontist. He specializes in diagnosing diseases of the nerve of the tooth, the root of most dental pain.
If you are looking for a good source for dental pain diagnosis, check out this website by the American Association of Endodontists at http://www.aae.org/toothpainguide.html. From the AAE homepage, click on "for the patient." And you'll find the Tooth Pain guide.
Karen had a root canal to treat her sensitive molar. "The root canal was really no worse than getting a filling done."
Dental pain almost always gets worse. So any delay increases your risk of needing more serious and often more costly treatment later. For Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas A & M System, I'm Dr. Linda Niessen.
Dr. Linda Niessen, clinical professor in the Department of Restorative Sciences and the Office of Communications and Development at Baylor College of Dentistry, hosts Dental Health Check, the only weekly dental feature shot on location in the nation.
