Pulpitis – what is it?
Pulpitis is also colloquially known as dental neuritis.
The pulp is the term used to describe the nerves and blood vessels that lie embedded in the connective tissue inside a tooth and supply it.
Pulp disease is divided into four stages:
- Acute pulpitis
- Reversible pulpitis – reversible, curable.
- Irreversible pulpitis – no longer reversible, incurable.
- Necrosis – tissue death
If left untreated, the disease progresses from one stage to the next and the tooth is eventually dead.
The nerve must be pulled, which is called root canal treatment.
What causes pulpitis?
The main cause of pulpitis is caries (95%). This can progress so far inside the tooth that the pulp also becomes infected.Other possible causes include accidents in which the tooth breaks.
How do you recognize pulpitis?
Depending on the stage of the disease, there are different complaints and symptoms that allow a clear assignment to the degree of the disease. Reversible pulpitis
- Pain only on stimulus
- Affected tooth usually localizable
- Pain outlasts stimulus only briefly
Irreversible pulpitis
- Spontaneous pain
- Pain persisting over stimulus
- Radiating pain
- Night pain occurring independently of stimulus
Necrosis
- Continuous pain
- Tooth precisely localizable
How can you prevent pulpitis?
To prevent pulpitis, you should visit the dentist regularly – at least twice a year. This allows your dentist to detect and treat a caries at an early stage, before it has progressed to the pulp.
Once the disease has broken out, it can only be cured in the reversible pulpitis stage. If it progresses further, root canal treatment must be performed and the tooth is dead.
