Yes. The ways a nerve can die and the symptoms a person can feel (or not) varies almost as much as the patients vary. As I stated before, infection is the major reason that patients seek treatment. A tooth can die rapidly, in which case a person will feel some sort of discomfort. In other, less common situations, a tooth sometimes dies a very slow death. In these cases, you may only feel a little “something” once or twice and ignore it because it doesn’t really hurt.Other times you may never feel anything at all. It takes sometimes years for these teeth to die completely. One day during a routine dental exam it may become evident on an x-ray film. Your dentist will advise you of your need, and either treat you; or refer you to a dentist who can.

• Why do I need endodontic therapy (root canal therapy)?
• What is a root canal anyway?
• Would you be more specific?
• How long does it take?
• Is the procedure painful?
• How come my regular dentist won’t do my root canal?
• Am I finished after the root canal? Do I need to have anything else done to my tooth?
• I had several crowns done in the past, how come I never had a root canal with those teeth?
• How long should I wait before having the buildup and crown done?
• Is it better to see a specialist, or let my general dentist treat me?
• What are some of the complications that could arise during treatment?
• Root canals don’t work on me! I’ve had several; and every time I end up getting the tooth pulled!
• My dentist said I needed to have a tooth I already had a root canal done on, treated again. Why?
• I had endodontic therapy done 10 years ago. Last week I had another tooth treated, and the procedure seemed very different. Which one is better?