As the names imply, these diseases are largely characterised by the symptoms they present, duration and location of pain, causing and relieving factors. A clinician's role is to gather all this information systematically. This will be a compilation of clinical tests (cold ethyl chloride, EPT, hot gutta percha, palpation), radiographic analysis (peri-apical and/or cone beam computed tomography) and any further tests deemed necessary. Thermal tests are subjective by nature, so performed on not only the compromised tooth, but the adjacent and contra-lateral teeth as well, allowing the patient to compare information and give the clinician more accurate responses. Normal healthy teeth are used as a baseline for diagnoses.