If an infected tooth isn't always painful, how does a dentist detect
an infection in the root of a tooth? Is it almost always caused by a
deep cavity in the root?

Is it possible for 'referred pain' to occur in the case of an infected
tooth? I am experiencing twinges of {*filter*} pain (bilateral) that come
and go, and am not sure if this is a result of an underlying gum or
tooth infection. However I was X-rayed only recently and my dentist
told me I only had some tiny cavities. What gives?

?

The perils of dentistry!

Cheers,

Joel

As a person who has had two dead teeth and no visible abscess in the
x-ray I can tell you what happened to me. The first tooth was having
cosmetic work done by a very old dentist. The assistant forgot to put
the tip on the water syringe and when the dentist went to wash off the
etch from the dentin (this particular product had to be rinsed off in 20
seconds) he couldn't, so the tooth died.

The second was from biting into a bone piece in a fast cooking.net">food hamburger.
The tooth had no decay and no fillings. Cracked it some, and have a root
c{*filter*}and I am in the process of getting an onlay.

Another way to check vitality is to do a "pulp test". This is how they
confirmed them on me both times because I do not seem to abscess. We
looked at the nerve when it was open and it looked all shriveled.

Lynn