Do I Need a Root Canal? - Potential Symptoms

As a general dentist at BrightNow! Dental in Colorado, Dr. Mark Moynier performs a broad range of procedures. Dr. Mark Moynier frequently draws on his experience in offering root canal therapy.

A root canal is a common procedure that can save a tooth with diseased or damaged pulp. Any kind of damage to pulp causes the internal structure of the tooth to break down and leads to the growth of bacteria inside the pulp chamber. If left untreated this can lead to more widespread infection and a painful and dangerous abscess at the root of the tooth.

Most patients will suspect that a tooth's pulp is infected or injured because they experience intense pain when they chew or bite with the damaged tooth. Hot or cold temperatures can also cause intense and lasting pain that will often prompt a patient to visit the dentist. 

The patient may also notice tenderness and swelling of the gums that surround the tooth. Visual inspection may reveal a pimple on the gums that resists healing or erupts repeatedly in a similar spot. The tooth itself might look darker than usual in color. While these symptoms are less likely to bother the patient enough to make an appointment, they are no less important. Infections that go undetected for long periods of time can do damage to the root(s) and the surrounding bone so that the tooth must be extracted. They can also grow large enough to cause the adjacent teeth to begin to hurt as well.

The presence of these symptoms can help a dentist to determine whether a patient might need root canal therapy. They are not the only clues, however, and they do not enable a patient to self-diagnose. Symptoms that mimic those of teeth needing a root canal may only need a new filling, or a recent filling or crown may need to be adjusted. 

The quality of your care is very important and most of the information needed can only be gathered with a clinical examination. That's why scheduling an appointment with a dentist is so important to accurately determine the source of the pain and what the appropriate course of treatment should be.

A Diversity of Edible Mushrooms in the Colorado Rockies

Mark Moynier, DDS, is a Thornton, Colorado general dentist who guides BrightNow! Dental and offers a coordinated suite of care that includes the services of a periodontist and orthodontist. Dr. Mark Moynier has a passion for organic gardening and also enjoys foraging for mushrooms in the area where he lives. 

Encompassing myriad elevations, the Rocky Mountains offer abundant mushroom varieties in their lower elevations, with fungi concentrated in riparian areas surrounding streams and bogs. Among the sought after species is the Morchella esculentoides, or common morel, which fruits in spring beneath cottonwood trees. Other edible varieties include the red pine mushroom which is part of the milk cap genus, and the diminutive Laccaria laccata, which often appears in large groups. 

One unique fungi that makes an appearance in late fall is the Tricholoma populinum, or sand mushroom, which appears in sandy, dried up riverbeds in the vicinity of cottonwoods. One way to find this edible treat is to look for the paw marks of foraging deer that have hunted for the mushroom under fallen leaves. 

Higher up in montane forests from 5500 to 9000 feet, mushroom hunters seek out premium varieties such as the Tricholoma magnivelare, or white matsutake, which is found amidst fallen lodgepole pine needles. Another favorite at this elevation range is the Boletus barrowsii, or white king bolete, which is often found near ponderosa pine and white oak.