What's the Point of Dental Pulp? Why Your Teeth Have Nerves Inside Them

27 September 2017
 Categories: Dentist, Blog

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Have you ever wondered what causes your teeth to ache and throb incessantly whenever you get a cavity or receive a blow to the mouth? The cause lies within the tooth itself, beyond the hard outer layer of enamel. In the centre of all teeth is a chamber which houses a collection of nerves and blood vessels. This collection of tissue is known to dentists as the "pulp", and is the cause of every toothache you have ever had.

Animals too have nerves in their teeth. In fact, the earliest known case of toothache belongs to a 275 million year-old fossilized reptile that was unearthed in Oklahoma. But if all they do is cause toothaches, then what's the point in having nerves in teeth? Is it some cruel joke of evolution?

Actually, believe it not, the nerves within teeth really do serve several important functions.

Nerves Help You to Judge Biting Pressure

Along with the periodontal ligaments, which is a bundle of nerve fibres that helps to keep your teeth attached to your jawbone, the nerve helps you to sense pressure when chewing. For example, when chewing on a particularly hard item of candy as a child, you were able to use this sense of pressure to carefully break the candy with certain teeth.

If your teeth did not have this capability, in other words, if they had no nerves, you could very well end up crushing your teeth whilst chewing.

The Pulp Keeps Your Teeth Nourished and Strong  

Just as the rest of your body needs nourishment and oxygen, which is transported by your blood, so too do your teeth. The blood vessels within the tooth transport calcium and other minerals to the dentin layer of your teeth. Dentin is the porous, flexible layer of material that lies below the enamel layer of your teeth and is responsible for the yellowish tint that adult teeth have.

If this supply of minerals and oxygen is taken away, such as via root canal surgery to remove an infected nerve, the tooth can no longer strengthen itself and will eventually deteriorate. This is why dentists recommend that teeth that have had root canals have dental crowns placed over them, to strengthen them.

Nerves Let You Know Your Tooth is in Trouble

Without nerves, you would never know that a tooth was broken. You might then continue using it as normal, causing more damage, until the tooth eventually collapsed altogether. In this respect then, the pain caused by the nerves inside your teeth is your friend--even though it can at times be excruciating!

Take good care of your teeth and you need never experience the painful warning cry of the nerves in your teeth. For more information, contact a local dentist.