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The stereotype of a dreaded trip to the dentist’s office is typically a root canal. While having an invasive look at a tooth can sound intimidating, this procedure is often the last resort to save a tooth from total decay. Plus, with modern advances in dental care, patients don’t feel a thing during the treatment. To give you perspective on this infamous procedure, here are the symptoms, uses, and recovery process of a standard root canal.

What Is a Root Canal?

The Location & the Procedure

dentistA root canal can refer to both a procedure and the part of the mouth the procedure is performed. The root canals of teeth are inner passages between the pulp and tooth roots that can become infected, which can result in severe pain due to the nerves in that area. A root canal procedure then drills into the tooth to remove those infected nerves and relieve resulting pain. An endodontist is typically in charge of your treatment, as their specialty is to save damaged teeth through root canals. Standard dentists, however, are also extensively trained in this procedure, as well, and are qualified to perform the task.

What Causes Root Canals

When a dentist performs a root canal, their target is dental pulp. This soft area within the center of the tooth houses its nerve, blood vessels, and connective tissue. When the pulp gets damaged by decay, cracks, or disease, the bacteria spread in the pulp chamber and produce an infection, which causes myriad oral health issues and makes the nerve extra-reactionary.

A tooth nerve doesn’t serve a purpose in adult teeth once they’re fully grown in besides sensory responses to outside stimuli. With years of research, dentists have found that tooth function is unaffected by whether or not the nerve exists, so using a root canal mainly helps you avoid tooth pain. Once the procedure is complete, though, a dentist must seal it to protect its structural integrity.

Signs You Need a Root Canal

Tooth pain while you eat or put pressure on that area is often a strong indication of infection in a root canal, but there are other symptoms your dentist will evaluate to confirm this diagnosis:

  • Sensitivity to hot and cold that lingers after the stimuli are gone
  • Small bump on the gums near the affected tooth
  • Darkening of the tooth
  • Tender or swollen gums near the tooth in question

A dentist will use x-rays to determine whether you need one given your symptoms, and they will only prescribe this course of action if they believe it is necessary.

What to Expect

Are Root Canals Painful?

Ultimately, a dentist’s mission is to eliminate pain, not create it through the procedure, which contradicts a common extremely painful caricature of root canals. In reality, the symptoms that warrant the procedure leave you with a constant aching feeling in your tooth, and the extraction of the infection is what resolves that discomfort. Swelling and nerve pain affect your ability to eat or put pressure of any kind on your tooth. If you receive a root canal and take care of your smile following the procedure, then your teeth can remain healthy long-term.

The process of extracting infected tooth pulp has evolved significantly over the past few years. Once considered an intimidating procedure, root canals have become painless due to advances in local anesthetic. Most people who receive one equate it to getting a standard filling in terms of sensation and pain level—you can recognize something is happening, but it doesn’t hurt.

How the Procedure Works

dentistTo create a plan of action for your root canal, a dentist will first take a day-of x-ray to determine the extent of the damage and create a “road map” of their treatment. Once they’re prepared, they’ll inject a local anesthetic into your gums in the area to numb any nerves. This step will make you feel more comfortable during the process, and a rubber dam will then go around the infected tooth to keep it dry.

To get to the problem area, the dentist will begin the pulpectomy by drilling an access hole to the damage—a step that is painless due to the anesthetic. Once there, they will use special tools to eliminate the infected nerve and pulp tissue. A dentist will then either seal the tooth the same day or provide a temporary filling while a custom crown is made.

The sealing process involves either placing a rubber compound into the root canal where the damage was extracted or inserting a crown over the affected tooth. Either option protects the area from pain and future infection. Overall, this treatment has a 95% success rate, and teeth fixed with this procedure typically last a lifetime with proper oral care.

How to Recover From a Root Canal

If your dentist has recommended a crown post-treatment, you must book your appointment for that installation before you leave the office the day of your procedure. The custom crown will typically take up to a week to create in a dental lab, so anticipate this follow-up appointment when initially scheduling your root canal. While waiting for this permanent guard for your tooth, minimize chewing in this area, as it will avoid additional damage or recontamination to the healing tooth.

After the procedure, you can also expect a bit of tooth pain and sensitivity due to tissue inflammation. Dentists will typically suggest over-the-counter painkillers like ibuprofen or naproxen to alleviate tooth pain, but it should subside in a few days with proper oral care. If it is difficult to brush, invest in a soft-bristled toothbrush and seek out products made specifically for sensitive teeth. Tooth pain should not last long-term after a procedure—you should be able to go back to work the following day—but talk with your dentist if you don’t feel better after a few weeks.

While root canals are not as intimidating as most think, it’s essential to take necessary steps to avoid having to receive the procedure multiple times. A regular oral health routine following your root canal is vital to the tooth’s recovery. The pillars of this routine are brushing twice daily for two minutes, flossing once a day, and visiting the dentist for a check-up and a cleaning every six months.

What Is Endodontic Retreatment?

Should the root canal heal improperly, leaving you with more pain, there is a second shot to salvage your tooth. Common complications that arise include:

  • Narrow or curved canals not addressed in the initial root canal
  • Complicated canal paths that weren’t previously detected
  • Delayed restoration of the tooth
  • Salivary contamination due to improper sealing
  • New decay causing a new infection
  • A tooth fracture

A retreatment procedure operates similarly to an initial root canal in terms of the pulpectomy, but unlike before, the dentist needs first to remove the filling material that intended to guard the hollowed root canals. They will then carefully examine the tooth, navigating any minute, intricate pathways that could harbor infection, and remove, clean, and shape these canals a second time. Once the process is complete, the dentist then places new filling materials, allows it to heal a few days, and places a new crown on top at a later appointment.

 

A root canal is a far less stressful procedure when you receive treatment from a reliable dentist. In Mamaroneck, NY, All Bright Dental is the trusted name in dental treatments of any kind. The skill of Dr. Gennadiy Kravets, DDS, extends from general and cosmetic dentistry to post-doctoral study and experience in endodontics, oral surgery, and prosthodontics. He is dedicated to keeping his practice current with modern techniques and innovations in the dentistry field. For more information about this dentist’s full range of oral health services, visit their website, or give them a call today at (914) 698-5228.

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