There is probably not a single person on earth who would go to a dentist appointment without a shudder. What only many do not take to delay a visit to the doctor. They go to healers, self-medicate, and, of course, come up with many non-existent reasons that justify their newly postponed visit. But sooner or later, you have to go. So maybe you should do it earlier? It is in order to make the right decision - to treat or not to treat, you need to know what kind of disease it is, and whether it is painful to treat tooth decay. The necessary information is presented below.
Caries - what ailment?
Tooth decay is the defeat of the tooth with acid, which is produced by bacteria. This process begins with the destruction of enamel, followed by spreading deep into hard tissues. However, for the formation of caries, the influence of bacteria alone is not enough, concomitant changes in the body are also necessary.
Therefore, when all these factors are combined in the body, for example, poor nutrition, stress, genetics, poor oral hygiene, violation of the structure of tooth tissues, etc., the development of caries begins.
Stages of the disease
There are several stages (stages) of this disease:
- Initial, superficial. White spots appear on the surface of the tooth, demineralization occurs. After that, the enamel damaged by bacteria begins to darken, acquiring a rough surface.
- Medium. There is a defeat of dentin - located under the enamel layer. A carious cavity soon forms. Whether it is painful to treat caries at this stage or not depends on the level of the patient's pain threshold. In some cases, it is possible to do without anesthesia.
- Deep The development of complications when caries goes beyond dentin.
Features in children and adults
The period of development of the disease is different for everyone. So, for example, in children most often acute caries occurs, which occurs almost immediately and causes damage to milk teeth. If left untreated, the disease can switch to new, healthy teeth. In adults, the development process is more likely chronic.
Complications
Complications caused by caries are an inflammatory process that goes beyond hard tissue. These include pulpitis, periodontitis, cysts and flux. The treatment of these diseases is already a rather complicated and painful process, which can result in tooth extraction. Therefore, it is best to consult a doctor at an early stage of the disease. Then the therapy will be almost painless.
Treatment at different stages
Thus, in order to understand whether it is painful to treat tooth decay if the tooth hurts, it is necessary to determine the stage of the disease. The treatment procedure for the initial appearance of spots is to saturate the body (tooth enamel) with substances such as calcium and fluoride. This is a painless procedure.
But when the first traces of the destruction of enamel appear, filling is required. This procedure can cause a few painful minutes, but it also does not require pain relief. If the patient wants, the doctor may well give an injection to remove the discomfort.
The middle and deep stages of tooth damage require thorough treatment. And in this case, anesthesia is indispensable. But do not be afraid of this procedure, since drugs can quickly and at any time anesthetize the right tooth. These include:
- "Novocaine" is a low-impact drug, not more than 15 minutes.
- "Pyromecain" - acts after 2 minutes, and allows you to treat a tooth for 20 minutes.
- "Lidocaine" - the average level of exposure. Anesthetizes for 1.5 hours.
- "Bupivacaine" is the most powerful drug used in dentistry. Its action lasts up to 12 hours.
That is, the doctor’s arsenal has a lot of tools to anesthetize the process. Therefore, each patient, deciding for himself the question of whether it is painful to treat caries and whether to take the drug, must remember that each remedy, in addition to relief, also causes harm. Therefore, if there is an opportunity to tolerate, and the doctor permits, it is better not to resort to their use.
Squamous caries
Caries can vary and the place of the disease, depending on what kind of teeth and how damaged. For example, cervical caries occurs most often in children and adults over 30 years old, with poor hygiene, as well as with some diseases that lead to this type of caries. For example, scurvy, osteochondrosis and others. Quite often, it occurs in people with diabetes. Since in this case the amount of pathogenic microflora increases, leading to accelerated demineralization of the teeth.
This type of dental disease occurs at the border where the tooth is in contact with the gum. There is an increased sensitivity during thermal and mechanical influences, enamel darkens, and halitosis appears. This type of caries progresses very quickly and spreads to the root.
At the initial stage, whether it is painful to treat cervical caries, only a specialist will answer. But most often they conduct a course of therapy, which allows using enriching pastes to enrich teeth with microelements. But the subsequent stages without anesthesia do not pass. Since it may require not only a filling, but also the removal of nerves.
In the treatment of cervical caries, the cavity is cleaned, the gums are squeezed out, the canals are treated, fillings are filled or, if necessary, crowns are installed
Caries of the front teeth is probably the most unpleasant and ugly disease. After all, they are always in sight. Because their damage brings, especially the fair sex, a lot of experiences. Enamel on the front teeth is thinner than on the masticatory, and therefore more in need of careful care and timely treatment.
The first symptoms when you need to see a doctor
In order not to think about whether it is painful to treat caries on the front teeth or not, you should consult a specialist at the first symptoms. These symptoms include the following:
- the teeth changed color;
- spots appeared, white or brown, that is, decalcification occurred;
- reaction to food, namely, hot, cold, sour, etc.
- bad breath.
With a quick visit to the doctor, filling can be painless. The only condition is an appeal to a specialist who is able to make an aesthetically beautiful seal. Since everyone wants to have a beautiful smile. However, if tooth decay is accompanied by severe pain, anesthesia cannot be avoided.
Deep caries
Another type of ailment described is its late stage or deep caries. When it happened, the destruction of the hard tissues of the tooth, and there was a defeat of the deep layers of the dentin. This is evidenced by acute pain from mechanical, chemical, as well as thermal stimuli.
With such a caries, it is imperative to take a picture of the jaw or one affected tooth. Is it painful to treat caries with an injection of pain medication, which the doctor will introduce at the very beginning of all procedures? With such diseases, it does not hurt.
There are several forms of such caries:
- Sharp. It is accompanied by severe pain, disappearing almost immediately after the cessation of stimulation of the tooth. The cavity is larger than the inlet.
- Chronic There is practically no pain. The entrance and cavity are quite wide.
- Under the seal. Secondary caries may develop , that is, microbes have entered the microcrack between the filling and the tooth. And also relapse, when at the beginning of treatment the tooth cavities were not well cleaned.
Acute form deep
In the acute form of caries, the question is not even whether it is painful to treat deep caries or not, since it is necessary to completely remove the tissues that have undergone destruction, treat the tooth cavity, introduce the drug and fix it with a temporary filling.
The medicine located in the tooth prevents the development of further inflammation, restores blood circulation. It is removed after a few days if there is no relapse. Then a permanent seal is established.
Under the gum
Probably the most severe and painful form of caries is the inflammatory process under the gum. It can be detected only in a deep, difficult stage. Since it develops in a region invisible to the eye. Almost always, this inflammatory process is accompanied by pulpitis. Therefore, it requires, in addition to cleaning the cavity, removing the nerve.
Treatment of this type of caries is always accompanied by unpleasant sensations. And any doctor, when asked if it is painful to treat deep caries without pain medication, will respond positively and advise you to give an injection.
Treatment of caries in children
Treatment of such a disease in children is fraught with some problems, for example, such as fatigue of a child, copious salivation, etc. Therefore, this process is divided into stages.
Inflamed cavities in childhood have a flat and fairly shallow entrance. At the first stage, the doctor covers the tooth with fluoride varnish. Then, at subsequent visits, a tooth is carefully treated with a spherical boron and an antiseptic is applied. After that, it is filled and polished.
Dividing the entire procedure into several visits avoids anesthesia and helps the child get used to the dental office.
During pregnancy
Is it painful to treat caries without anesthesia in pregnant women? This is a difficult question. The pain threshold is different for everyone, but any pain in this condition can lead to stress, cause the release of hormones that can affect the child. For example, breathing may be impaired and become a real threat of abortion. But caries cannot be treated either, since this inflammation can cause intrauterine infection, a delay in the development of the child, etc. In this regard, doctors recommend anesthesia. And do not worry, modern drugs do not cross the placental barrier.
Tooth decay wisdom
And of course, one cannot help but remember the decay of wisdom teeth. It develops on them due to poor hygiene procedures. These teeth are usually poorly located, and hard to get to, which leads to a rapid accumulation of plaque and the development of caries. It happens that wisdom teeth erupt with the already existing deep caries. A person learns about his development only when pain begins to bother him.
Finally
From all that has been said, dental treatment is a rather unpleasant procedure. And in order not to think about the question - is it painful to treat caries, you should consult a doctor not only when the first symptoms of the disease occur, but also for preventive examinations.