Common diseases of the tooth pulp

The article is professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Dang Tien Dat - Doctor of Odonto-Stomatology - Department of Medical Examination and Internal Medicine - Vinmec Ha Long International General Hospital.

Most cases of toothache or tooth loss in young people are caused by pulp disease. Understanding the causes as well as common diseases of the pulp can help the prevention and treatment process be more effective.

Dental pulp is an organization of connective tissue located in the pulp cavity, including blood vessels, lymphatics and nerves. The tooth pulp is surrounded by hard dentin tissue and is composed of two parts: the pulp chamber and the canal system. The main function of the pulp is to conduct nerve impulses and nourish the teeth.
Pathology related to tooth pulp is a fairly common condition, often stemming from complications of dental caries, causing the histological components of the pulp to become infected, even necrotic. Long-term untreated tooth decay is a favorable condition for bacteria to survive and penetrate into the tooth with an open pulp, causing disease.
Besides, there are also a number of other causes that can lead to diseases in the tooth pulp such as:
Pulpitis, periodontitis caused by bacteria Chemical poisoning such as lead, mercury The blood vessels feeding the tooth pulp are broken due to trauma. Physical trauma Wear, chipping or breaking of teeth Sudden changes in ambient pressure

Reversible pulpitis Reversible pulpitis is a mild form of disease in the pulp of the tooth, caused by a condition that is not detected and treated in time. Often patients with reversible pulpitis do not have any characteristic symptoms. If there is, it is just the feeling of sensitive teeth when encountering stimuli such as cold or heat, sour food, the feeling of tooth sensitivity does not last long. These manifestations disappear as soon as the stimulus is removed.
In fact, reversible pulpitis is rare because it is so mild and asymptomatic that it is often overlooked. Patients only feel pain when they go to the doctor and find out when myelitis has progressed to a more severe stage.
Irreversible pulpitis Irreversible pulpitis includes both painless or painful forms. In the painful form of irreversible pulpitis, the patient may experience typical pulpal pain such as:
Spontaneous pain Migraine and ipsilateral radiating pain Regional pain, unspecified pinpoint the location of the painful tooth Pain can last for a few minutes or can last for hours Pain that gets worse with changing positions or hot/cold stimuli. For the painless form of irreversible pulpitis, it can be detected through clinical examination when an exposed tooth has yellow speckling, dark red mass or cavity.

Acute myelitis People with acute myelitis often have typical symptoms such as:
Spontaneous pain often occurs at night and can persist When food falls into a deep hole or sudden temperature change trigger pain Constant dull or sharp pain. Patients can return to their normal activities once the pain is over. However, in case of acute pulpitis with pus, the pain will become worse and more intense:
Feeling like a drum is knocking in the ear Painful jerking like a pulse Painful teeth protrude higher than normal and have symptoms. mild tremor
Chronic myelitis This form of the disease is common in young people. Chronic pulpitis is caused by intermittent stimuli of mild intensity and affects the rich vascular pulp tissue.
The pain of chronic pulpitis often has characteristics such as lasting many hours, natural and dull pain, pain in episodes with a very short interval between pain. There are also cases where the patient has no specific symptoms, but only a slight pain when chewing food.
On clinical examination, if it is chronic pulpitis, the doctor will detect a red nodule growing between the root of the tooth.

Necrosis of the pulp Some cases of tooth necrosis will experience a sharp pain. However, most of the remaining cases do not have any pain symptoms, the pain only appears when the inflammatory and necrotic foci spread to the root of the tooth.
Diseases in the tooth pulp in the early stages may not affect the patient's daily activities much. However, if not detected and treated promptly, the disease can progress to more severe chronic pulpitis or pulp necrosis. The fact that the tooth has necrotic pulp that accumulates at the root of the tooth or spreads to adjacent teeth can lead to serious complications.

Master, Doctor Dang Tien Dat graduated with a master's degree in Odonto-Stomatology at Hanoi Medical University. Dr. Dat has strengths in: performing wisdom tooth extraction procedures, root canal treatment, tartar removal, gentle tooth filling, minimal trauma, helping patients to minimize pain; Design and make beautiful porcelain teeth. Currently, dentist Dat is working at the Department of Odonto-Stomatology, Vinmec Ha Long International Hospital.
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