Root canal therapy may be recommended when a tooth is decayed or severely infected. If you’ve never had root canal treatment in Newcastle, you might feel apprehensive or nervous about this procedure.
Root canal therapy in Clarington is a great procedure that can eliminate an unpleasant toothache and save a tooth from extraction. Unfortunately, there are a couple of myths surrounding root canal therapy that can deter people from seeking treatment. Read on to discover the truth about this treatment.
Myth 1: Root Canals are Painful
Your root canal treatment will not be painful. No modern dentistry should feel painful because we use a local anesthetic to numb your mouth before we begin. Although keeping your mouth open for a while can be mildly uncomfortable, your root canal procedure should not cause you any more pain.
In fact, after treatment and once the local anesthetic has worn off, the tooth should feel infinitely more comfortable. Any severe pain should have disappeared.
The tooth may feel a bit more sensitive for a few days afterwards until it settles down. This is completely normal, and any mild discomfort should be easily controllable with over-the-counter pain relief. If you ever feel any pain during your treatment, simply raise your hand, and we will stop instantly. We can then ensure that treatment continues painlessly. The same goes for any pain after treatment; if you are ever concerned, we are here to help.
Myth 2: Root Canal Therapy Can Make You Ill
According to this theory, if you received root canal therapy, then you’re more likely to become ill or develop a nasty disease in the future. This extremely old myth dates back over a century and was based on a poorly designed research study. No scientific evidence links root canal therapy to any other disease or health problem.
Leaving a tooth untreated can cause further infection, impacting your overall health. The bacteria that cause a tooth infection can spread from the tooth root, making you feel unwell or feverish. In the worst case, this can occasionally become life-threatening.
We encourage anyone with a toothache to visit West Bowmanville Family Dental urgently. The sooner we can treat a tooth infection, the sooner we can get rid of the pain and prevent the infection from spreading.
Myth 3: It’s Better to Remove the Tooth and Have a Root Canal Treatment
We always try to save natural teeth, as they are always the best option. While we can replace extracted teeth with dental implants in Courtice or dental bridges or dentures, your real teeth are better.
With the right preventive dental care, your teeth are meant to last for life and root canal therapy has an extremely high success rate. After treatment, your tooth should last many years or even for life.
Myth 4: My Tooth Doesn’t Hurt, so I Need Root Canal Therapy
An infected tooth nerve can cause tooth pain. If the tooth nerve dies, then the pain may disappear. Unfortunately, the infection is still present and still needs to be treated. This is why we may recommend you have root canal therapy to save the tooth, even if it feels pain-free.
If you need root canal therapy, please don’t worry; we will take every precaution to ensure you feel comfortable and relaxed in the dental chair. We are especially gentle with anyone who feels nervous or anxious and can always discuss sedation dentistry if required.