Does a Root Canal Hurt

Infected tooth root

tiagoav — Wed, 02 May 2012 00:13:32 +0000

Infected tooth root is usually a result of untreated dental decay that reaches the pulp. It can also have other causes such as dental trauma, heavily restored tooth or even gum disease. When the tooth root is infected pain is likely to occur. Initially painful episodes may only be triggered by thermal alterations (don’t confuse tooth sensitivity with infected dental nerve), but then these episodes will be more frequent, especially during the night. When the tooth nerve (pulp) dies completely, it will no longer hurt for a short period, but then after this a mild discomfort starts to take place, and will eventually become a huge tooth ache again. This happens when a dental abscess forms. The following video demonstrates the perils of an infected tooth, and the process by which the infection occurs:

Pain after root canal – How long?

tiagoav — Tue, 01 May 2012 23:56:35 +0000

Usually, after a root canal session, it is normal to experience pain during the first 48 hours. This pain might go from a mere discomfort to severe pain. The reasons behind this fact are explained in this article with more detail, but as a golden rule, you should wait 48-72 hours before contacting your dentist, unless you’re having unbearable pain.

Most of the times the pain can easily be controlled with painkillers, and will go away within the first 2-3 days.

If, on the other hand, you feel the painkillers are having any effect on the pain, and your face is swelling, then you should contact your dentist IMMEDIATELY!

Are root canals painful?

tiagoav — Tue, 01 May 2012 23:45:48 +0000

If you’re postponing dental treatment, because you’re afraid of the pain you might experience in the dentist, then let me tell you: your tooth won’t get any better and the pain won’t disappear. Even if you take drugs you might have a temporary relief but pain will most likely return and your face will swell.

Root canals are simple procedures, and with the correct technique there is no reason why it should be a painful experience. The reason why so many people fear it is because of the myths that remained of how the procedure was made many years ago. These days, dentists worry much about the patient well being, and about their self image. I’m sure no dentist wants to be known as someone who causes pain, especially now with all the competition there is in the market.

I’m sure the more you read about it, and as soon as you explain your fears to your dentist, the more you’ll be reassured there’s no need to panic. Don’t neglect your health, as there are many consequences of tooth loss, or of unattended dental infections.

How is a root canal done?

tiagoav — Tue, 01 May 2012 23:40:46 +0000

The tooth consist of hard tissue (the enamel and dentin), covering soft tissue (the dental pulp). When the outer (hard) tissue is cavitated, the usual treatment is a filling. However, if the decay reaches the dental pulp, it becomes infected and the tooth starts hurting. The filling by itself, in these cases, isn’t enough to prevent further problems in that tooth, because the pulp becomes infected.

This is one of various reasons why a root canal is necessary. The procedure itself is quite simple, and consists of three phases:

1.- Root canal desinfection
2.- Root canal obturation
3.- Final restoration of the tooth

You can see in the following videos the steps of the root canal treatment:

Severe pain after root canal treatment

tiagoav — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:51:50 +0000

Root canal isn’t a painful treatment, as I explained before, but there is a possibility of severe pain after first session of root canal treatment. This is called an endodontic flare up. Usually this happens because during root canal disinfection, some of the necrotic pulp debris (dead nerve debris) may pass to the bone surrounding the tooth root tip, and reactivate a chronic abscess (not painful) thus resulting in an acute abscess.

Normally our immune system is able to cope with the extrusion of infected material, but in other occasions, especially if there’s an old but controlled and silent infection, this excess of infected debris causes an unbalance and pain will be excruciating as described by some patients. In these cases antibiotic therapy may be needed. You should contact your dentist as soon as possible, and despite the severe pain you are experiencing, you shouldn’t panic, as this is described in the literature as something that may happen.

Severe root canal pain after procedure is ended, is not as normal as between root canal treatment sessions. A mild discomfort is acceptable during the first 2 days to one week after the end of the treatment, but severe pain after root canal treatment, that won’t go away even with painkillers, probably means something went wrong. In this case you should wait 2-3 days and if you don’t feel any better you should contact your dentist and let him know what you are experiencing. He’ll be the best person to evaluate the current status of your tooth and what further treatment will be needed.

Root canal vs Extraction

tiagoav — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:55:36 +0000

When the tooth pulp (nerve) is infected, there are only two treatment options: Root canal treatment vs Extraction. You can’t just have a filling in the diseased tooth, because it won’t make the infection go away.

If you don’t take action soon enough, that infection will spread to your jaw, and eventually enter the bloodstream thus affecting other body areas like your kidneys or other organs.

Some people think it is better to extract the tooth, because they fear root canal treatment. Besides, when you have your teeth pulled instead of having a root canal, it is cheaper, straightforward, fast and apparently the best solution.

What about in the long term? I’ll show you why Root Canal vs Extraction should be an easy choice, and possibly the most cost-effective one.

Root Canal vs Extraction

When you lose a tooth, some changes start to take place. First, the neighboring teeth start to shift to the empty place as seen in the following video. This causes some occlusion problems. The masticatory effectiveness is reduced, the occlusal load on the remaining teeth increases, and the temporomandibular joint (the jaw joint) starts to be affected. This translates later to various problems including headaches, digestive tract problems (poorly chewed food), severe bone loss in the area of the tooth extraction and more complicated treatments because of the loss of he original space occupied by the extracted tooth.