What is pulpitis?
Pulpitis is an inflammation that affects the pulp of the tooth, that is, the soft, nervous and cellular tissue that contains the blood vessels inside the teeth.
It is a disease that is normally associated with the presence of caries, although it can be caused by other problems such as trauma, bruxism or infections, among others.
There are three types of pulpitis: reversible pulpitis, irreversible pulpitis and hyperplastic pulpitis.
- Reversible pulpitis: of a milder nature, as its name indicates, it can be reversed if diagnosed in time.
- Irreversible pulpitis: this is a more severe pulpitis, and in more complicated cases the tooth must be extracted when endodontics cannot be performed.
- Hyperplastic pulpitis: also known as pulp polyp, since the pulp of the tooth becomes inflamed, eroding and having communication with the mouth, being able to observe a pink spot on the tooth.
Prognosis of pulpitis
As such, it is not a serious disease that can lead to other diseases, but the greatest danger is having to extract the tooth when it is impossible to carry out the treatment.
Symptoms of pulpitis
The main symptom of pulpitis is pain, which can be more or less intense. This can be produced in two ways:
On the one hand, when consuming or taking some food that is either very hot or very cold. In this case, we speak of reversible pulpitis, and the pain appears when a stimulus is applied to the tooth. Once this stimulus is removed, the pain will disappear in a couple of minutes.
On the other hand, in irreversible pulpitis, the pain appears spontaneously, or is maintained over time for a couple of minutes once some stimulus has been removed, which will normally be heat. At the same time, in some cases the patient has difficulty in locating the tooth in which the pain occurs. In addition, the pain may cease for several days as soon as necrosis occurs in the pulp. Once complete, the pulp does not respond to stimuli such as cold or heat, but it does become sensitive to pressure.
Pulpitis is usually associated with poorly or untreated caries.
What are the causes of pulpitis?
Normally, the main cause of pulpitis is associated with the presence of poorly treated caries, at the moment when the caries manages to penetrate the enamel and even the dentin, reaching the pulp of the tooth.
Other causes may be trauma, fissures or poorly developed dental treatments. In some cases it can also be caused by periodontitis.
However, the common causes are:
- Reversible pulpitis
- Caries that have not damaged the dental nerve.
- Erosion in the teeth that reaches the dentin.
- Tooth fracture, leaving the dentin exposed
- Bruxism, which can cause loss of tooth enamel
- Irreversible pulpitis
- Very developed caries reaching the dental pulp
- Orthodontic treatment with too much force that practically cuts off the blood flow.
- Deep filling has been performed in which tissue has been removed and has reached the dental pulp
Prevention of pulpitis
The appearance of pulpitis can be prevented by maintaining proper hygiene and dental care, thus preventing the appearance of caries.
In the case of trauma or fissures, they are due to unpredictable causes.
Treatments for pulpitis
In the first instance, and as in most cases of pulpitis, there is inflammation, so the specialist should prescribe antibiotics and/or anti-inflammatory drugs to treat it.
If the case to be treated is a reversible pulpitis, the solution is to treat and eliminate the caries. Once it has been eliminated, a pulp capping is performed on the tooth and finally a filling.
If the pulpitis is irreversible or hyperplastic, the treatment will be somewhat longer, since the dental pulp is affected. However, in the first place the treatment will be with antibiotics, and once this has been completed, the dental pulp will be extracted by means of an endodoncy. Subsequently, the canals in which the pulp was found will be disinfected and plugged.
What specialist treats pulpitis?
The specialists in charge of diagnosing and treating pulpitis are Dentists and Dentistry.