Symptoms that most people are likely to experience that may indicate the need for a root canal treatment:

• Tooth ache: This is one of the first reasons why you would visit a dentist and the pain can range from mild to severe. The tooth ache can increase on changing position, especially while lying down or biting onto something using that particular tooth.
• Sensitivity: In normal cases, the enamel layer covers the inner two layers and we therefore, do not experience any sensitivity. However, when the dentin and pulp layers are exposed, you might experience increased sensitivity to air, hot foods, sour foods and sweet foods.
• In many cases, the tooth pain might be mild and most patients tend to ignore it. However, even though the pain subsides, the infection can still spread to tissues around the decayed tooth, resulting in a swelling.

A large number of patients who report to the dentist with a swelling are treated by root canal procedure.