How Painful Is Root Canal Treatment?
Root canal procedures are significant, involving deep cleaning inside the tooth’s inner chamber, which irritates the surrounding gums and nerves. You can expect pain after undergoing root canal treatment in Fort Myers, FL, to eliminate the excruciating pain you had in your tooth before receiving the treatment.
Fortunately, the discomfort doesn’t last forever because the treatment helps prevent the pain from a decayed or broken tooth. You can expect moderate pain for a few days after a root canal. Any discomfort beyond a few days calls for additional cleaning of the canals or other procedures from your dentist.
What Are the Three Stages of Root Canal Treatment?
You develop excruciating pain in a specific tooth infected by deep decay and left untreated for long or even from an untreated broken tooth that permitted your mouth bacteria to penetrate it and infect the nerves inside the tooth besides the dental pulp, and blood vessels, and connective tissue. The excruciating pain might encourage you to visit the emergency dentist near you, seeking a remedy against the condition.
The emergency dentist starts the first stage of root canal treatment by taking x-rays of the specific tooth causing the discomfort to determine the root cause of the problem and the extent of the damage within the tooth. If your tooth remains in repairable condition, the dentist suggests this specialized treatment to you after inquiring into your health history and any medications you take before scheduling the procedure.
The second stage of the treatment starts when you arrive for your appointment to receive the therapy from the dentist in Fort Myers when the professional provides local anesthesia near the affected tooth and sedation if you suffer from severe dental anxiety. After your tooth is entirely numb, the dentist creates a tiny access hole in the affected tooth to expose the infection within. After that, using flexible instruments and illumination technology, the dentist removes the infected or inflamed dental pulp and proceeds to clean the insides of the canals and disinfect them. Next, the canals are sealed with a biocompatible rubberlike filler gutta-percha, and the access hole is filled with a temporary filling.
After recovering from root canal treatment, you can finally start the third stage of this procedure by visiting your dentist to restore the tooth to its former functionality and getting a dental crown over the tooth in a couple of appointments. The final restoration strengthens the tooth and restores its appearance to enable you to continue using the tooth as earlier without the excruciating pain you experienced.
Initial Recovery after Root Canal Treatment
Earlier root canals were associated with incredible pain encouraging people to avoid this therapy. Fortunately, the dental office near you is equipped with pain-relieving techniques that ensure you don’t experience discomfort when undergoing the procedure. In reality, current-day root canals are no different from getting a dental filling in a severely decayed tooth.
The anesthesia administered when performing root canals doesn’t remain with you forever and begins wearing off approximately four to six hours after receiving this treatment. Therefore, it is undoubtedly the time when you start experiencing some moderate discomfort that remains with you for a few days.
As pain after root canal therapy is moderate, the dentist near you prescribes or suggests over-the-counter pain relievers to manage your discomfort. However, they also recommend not chewing hard foods with the treated tooth following root canal treatment until you recover completely and get the tooth fixed with a dental crown. Besides the above, the dentist also recommends tips to maintain oral health in optimal shape.
Tips for Optimal Oral Health
Excellent oral health practices help alleviate pain from a recent root canal. The tips also protect your new dental crown and help in enhancing its longevity for many years while simultaneously protecting all your teeth from infections that might require painful dental procedures like root canals. The tips are mentioned below for your reference.
It would help if you refrained from eating overly complex foods following root canal treatments. In addition, brushing and flossing your teeth is recommended following root canals, but the dentist advises caution around the treated tooth to prevent aggravating the procedure.
You must limit consuming sugary foods and beverages and schedule six monthly dental prophylaxis to keep your teeth healthy and free from infections. Most importantly, you must understand that impacts on your mouth can damage your teeth and cause minor cracks, making you vulnerable to severe conditions inside the tooth. Therefore you must get your teeth examined by your dentist even after an impact on your mouth that might create unnecessary complications.
Freedom dental Fort Myers performs many root canals enabling people to preserve their natural teeth by preventing extractions. If you have a specific tooth causing excruciating pain, kindly schedule an appointment with the practice to have your tooth evaluated and receive this therapy as soon as possible to prevent tooth loss.