Why Fear Root Canal Treatments Helpful for Preserving Your Teeth

Root canal treatments have a fearsome reputation, although they help preserve your teeth. Root canals are a dental procedure to remove the soft center of the tooth; the pulp made up of the nerves, connective tissue, and blood vessels helpful for the teeth to grow during the developmental stages.

Dentists or endodontists perform root canal surgery after you receive adequate anesthesia. Learn more about why this procedure isn’t as fearful as imagined but, in reality, a therapy that helps save your tooth.

Why May You Need Root Canal Treatment?

Root canals become necessary when the soft inner core of your tooth, the pulp becomes inflamed or infected due to deep tooth decay from an untreated cavity, repeated dental procedures on the same tooth, chips or cracks in the tooth, or injuries to the tooth without any chips or cracks being visible.

When your dental pulp is damaged, you experience familiar symptoms like pain in your tooth with swelling and sensitivity to hot and cold temperatures. The dentist from family dentistry examines your tooth and takes x-rays to confirm the diagnosis before recommending root canal surgery if they determine you need the procedure.

Performing Root Canal Surgery

Root canals are performed in a dental office, and when you arrive for your appointment, you are seated in a chair with a bib around your neck to prevent staining of your clothes.

The dentist from the clinic will apply some numbing medication to your gums near the affected tooth. Once the area is numb, you receive local anesthesia, which is injected into the gums. You remain awake during the procedure, but the anesthesia will prevent you from feeling any pain.

The dentist or endodontist makes a tiny access hole on top of the tooth to expose the dental pulp. After exposing the infected or inflamed dental pulp, the specialist carefully removes it with special instruments called files. The specialist is careful to clean out all the pathways in your tooth.

After the infected and inflamed pulp removal, the dentist coats the area with a topical antibiotic to ensure the infection is eliminated and prevent reinfection. After cleaning and disinfecting the canals, the dentist will fill and seal the tooth with a rubber-like material gutta-percha. Oral antibiotics are prescribed for you to combat any infections.

The procedure ends with the dentist filling the tiny access hole in the top of the tooth with a temporary material. The sealant helps the canals from being damaged by saliva.

Follow-up Appointments after Root Canal

You will experience soreness in your tooth and gums after the numbing medication begins to wear off. Swelling is also familiar after root canal treatment. The dentist is aware of these issues and prescribes or recommends over-the-counter pain medication to manage the discomfort. However, you can contact the dentist if you experience extreme pain lasting for over a few days.

You must visit the regular dentist within a few days after undergoing root canal therapy. The dentist takes x-rays to ensure the infection within is gone. They will also replace the temporary filling with a permanent one.

You can resume your everyday routine the day after the procedure. However, you must avoid chewing with the treated tooth until it is permanently restored with a filling or dental crown.

If you don’t prefer a permanent filling, you can request a dental crown over the tooth. Crowns are artificial teeth customized from gold or porcelain. Dental crowns have a realistic appearance.

You require several weeks to get accustomed to how the tooth feels after root canal treatment. The feeling is familiar and is not a cause for concern.

As it is clear, root canal treatments are painless and help to save your natural tooth. If you refuse to undergo the treatment, you must have the infected tooth extracted and look around for replacements at exorbitant costs besides multiple appointments at the dentist’s office. The price of undergoing root canal treatments is affordable compared to indulging in extractions and tooth replacement solutions.

Any pain about root canals only affects you after you undergo a surgical procedure familiar with every surgery. The benefits of having endodontic treatment outweigh the risks of pain or discomfort. Therefore you mustn’t fear root canals because they can save you from considerable expenditure besides leaving you with your natural tooth.