When the tooth decay goes from bad to worse, a normal filling is no longer good enough to resolve the issue. A bacterial infection can spread deeper into the tooth to affect the pulp tissue, so that putting a dental filling will only make matters worst. To relieve the patient of the pain and discomfort either the tooth will have to be extracted or a root canal should be performed.
A root canal procedure will remove the pulp tissue from the tooth, this will immediately relieve the patient of the pain because the diseased pulp will be removed, but it will allow the preservation of the tooth in the mouth. You do not have to get a tooth extraction. You do not have to get dentures to replace a lost tooth. You can salvage the tooth and preserve it in the mouth with a root canal procedure.
Root canals are fairly routine procedures performed by the dentist. It may be done by a general practitioner or an endodontic specialist; either way, you deal with the painful toothache.
Preparing for the Root Canal
If you are scheduled to have a root canal anytime soon, it is going to be useful for you to know the following:
- Root canal procedures are tedious and can be quite long. A typical procedure can involve multiple appointments. When the canals are not located and completely enlarged, a second or third appointment may be required, but at times a single-appointment root canal treatment procedure may be possible.
- Expect your appointment to be lengthy. Often the dentist keeps the patient for as long as three hours so make sure to have a meal before you get in. This will make you more comfortable not have to worry about an empty stomach while in the middle of the procedure.
- Ideally, the anesthetic solution should be able to numb the tooth, but in some cases, complete anesthesia may not be possible so you will feel some sensitivity at least until the entire pulp has been removed. After which, you will feel much relief and the pain will be gone.
- It will be helpful if you dose with painkillers and to start with your antibiotics, if prescribed before the procedure. The painkillers will help reduce any possible pain symptom during the procedure and the antibiotics will deal with the swelling caused by any abscess located periapically.
Caring for Yourself after the Root Canal
After getting a root canal, there are some things that you have to know as well:
- Your tooth may been traumatized by the procedure so you can expect some tenderness or dull pressure pain on the tooth. Be aware that this pain will only be temporary. It will all be well eventually.
- Take all the prescribed medications as ordered. The medicines are prescribed to you for a reason so you need to be responsible enough to follow the prescription closely.
- Your root canal treated tooth is not longer vital. The nerve and blood supply has been extirpated so it is no longer receiving nourishment from the body. This will make the tooth brittle compared to a healthy tooth so be aware not to subject it to too much force if you so not want it to fracture.