If you need to have a root canal, you may be feeling scared and confused. You might not know what to expect or if it will really help your toothache. Don’t worry – we’re here to answer your questions! Read on for three things that everyone should know before getting a root canal: 1) Root canals relieve pain, 2) they prevent tooth loss, and 3) dental crowns are essential after the procedure!
Root Canals Relieve Pain
Yes, you read that right. Root canals do, in fact, relieve pain by removing infected tissue and reducing inflammation. In cases where your tooth has become severely damaged or decayed, bacteria are able to enter the inside of your tooth, which is known as the pulp layer. This causes an infection called pulpitis, which then leads to inflammation around the tooth’s nerve. At this point, it is common to experience pain and/or tooth sensitivity.
Root canals are used to remove tooth decay from the inside of your teeth that has affected the nerve. They are not painful during the procedure since they use local anesthetic, but you may experience some tenderness after. This tenderness is only due to the fact that it takes a few days for the inflammation to subside once the infection has been removed. Still, the mild tenderness felt after a root canal is much more comfortable than the pain of a pulp infection.
Root Canals Save Teeth
In addition to relieving tooth pain, root canals can also save your teeth! This is because removing infected tissue from inside the tooth prevents the infection from getting worse. You see, pulp infections cannot be treated effectively with antibiotics and instead need to be removed. Without a root canal, the infection inside your tooth would continue to spread until it eventually causes abscesses to form around your tooth roots and tooth loss. In some cases, pulp infections can also spread to neighboring teeth. Root canals prevent this from happening by removing the infection before it has a chance to spread.
Expect a Dental Crown
After having a root canal, you’ll need to get a dental crown. A dental crown is a custom-made covering that fits over most of your natural upper or lower teeth (it covers the visible portion of the tooth). It’s like putting a cap over your tooth to protect it. In fact, sometimes dental crowns are also called “caps”.
A dental crown is necessary because, during a root canal procedure, your dentist drills into the outside of your tooth and the infected tissue inside of the tooth is removed. Although a rubber material known as gutta percha is placed inside the tooth, there is still some damage to your natural tooth structure. Since this can cause your tooth to become weak and break down faster over time, a dental crown is used to protect the natural tooth structure and prevent it from becoming damaged.
Root canals are a common procedure that helps relieve tooth pain and prevent teeth from becoming infected. The root canal process involves removing any infection in the pulp layer of your tooth, which is always better than letting it grow worse without treatment! You may experience some tenderness after getting a root canal but this will subside within days as the inflammation subsides. If you need to have a root canal done soon, contact our dental office for more information.
Dr. Admar holds dual certificates — a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) in 2010 from India and a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) in 2014 from Canada. He is now a full time practicing dentist in Kamloops where he provides a variety of services, including emergency dentistry. Dr. Admar spends hundreds of hours in continued dental education to stay up to date in cosmetic and implant dentistry and he has achieved several advanced qualifications.
