The most common symptom that patients report with exposed root canals are toothaches. Discomfort can come in the form of a consistent nagging pain or a sharp pain when biting down on food or drinking a hot or cold beverage. If an infected root canal is not treated in a timely fashion, the pain can go away. Some patients may think they have recovered but the truth is the nerve ending died and the infection is still present. This infection can spread and form an abscess at the base of the tooth’s roots.