Fast facts on pain after a root canal

If you have been asked recently by your dentist to go for a root canal for your decaying tooth, do not worry. You are one among many who are opting for this procedure to save a tooth or two.

It is natural for your teeth to feel sensitive for the first few days following the completion of a root canal. It typically happens due to the tissue inflammation, especially if there was pain or infection before the procedure. However, your dentist will help you manage this sensitivity or discomfort with certain over-the-counter pain medications. In most cases, you can expect to resume your normal activities the very next day with minimal care.

If you are looking for a best root canal treatment in Gurgaon you can visit The Dental Home – Multispeciality Dental Clinic in Gurgaon for reliable and affordable dental services.

How much pain is normal?

Gone are days where you could commonly hear patients screaming in pain at the dental clinic. Thanks to modern techniques and anesthetics, most people can comfortably undergo the root canal with little or moderate pain.

Remember that it is normal for your root canal-treated tooth to feel slightly different from your other teeth for some time after the treatment is completed. However, it is time to check with your dentist or endodontist if you have severe pain or pressure or pain that lasts more than a few days.

There are a few cases, where a tooth that has undergone the root canal does not heal or the pain doesn’t subside. In such a case, best option is to opt for a second chance to save the tooth with retreatment. Your dentist shall be able to alleviate the dental pain or discomfort and promote healing with an additional procedure.

Can a root canal fail?

Typically, most root canal-treated teeth last as long as other natural teeth. Under the guidance of you dentists and with proper care, you should be able to maintain the teeth that have had root canal treatment for as long as a lifetime. But occasionally, few patients report that their teeth are not healing properly, becoming painful or diseased long time after the treatment. This can occur after a successful treatment as well. There are several reasons for this including:

• Certain problems with respect to the tooth anatomy were not detected during the first treatment
• A new problem such as new decay can also jeopardize a tooth that was successfully treated, by causing infection in the treated tooth
• A crack or opening in the crown can lead to tooth infection
• A tooth fracture

When this occurs, the best thing to do is to redo the endodontic procedure and save the tooth.

Apart from these remedies, remember to follow good oral hygiene, including brushing, flossing, and regular checkups and cleanings.

Preparing your mouth and tooth: Root Canal Specialist in Gurgaon

Before we start talking about root canal procedure, let us understand the basic fact that root canal is quite a common treatment to treat tooth decay. Therefore, don’t worry over how complicated the process for root canal will be. We will help you with basic facts and information to know everything about what root canal treatment entails. To begin with, Root canal is a type of endodontic treatment where ‘endo’ means inside and ‘odont’ stands for tooth in Greek. The procedure in simple words involves treating your tooth from inside.

Here are basic steps that a dentist performs when preparing for a root canal procedure:

• First, the dentist will take an X-ray of the affected area to see the shape of the root canals and determine if there are any signs of infection in a surrounding bone.
• Next, the dentist or endodontist will use local anesthesia to numb the area near the tooth. Often, anesthesia may not be necessary, since the nerve is dead, but most dentists still anesthetize the area to make you more relaxed and at ease.

Then, to keep the area around the affected tooth dry, isolated and free of saliva during the treatment, a thin sheet of vinyl or rubber called a dental dam will be used.

Cleaning, shaping and filling the tooth

Specialized root canal files are used by dentists to carry out the cleaning process of the tooth area. Once your affected tooth area is ready for the treatment, an access hole will be drilled into the tooth. Your dentist will then use a series of root canal files of increasing diameter by subsequently placing each one of them into the access hole. The files are then worked down the full length of the tooth to scrape and scrub the sides of the root canals. This will help remove the decayed nerve tissue, the pulp along with bacteria, and related debris from the tooth. With removal of the nerve tissue, added bonus would be that you won’t feel any pain. Water or sodium hypochlorite will be used periodically to flush away the debris.

Shaping of tooth is a delicate process that requires a lot of skill. Shaping during root canal involves contours of the tooth’s canals being enlarged and flared, so that they have a shape that’s more ideal for the procedure’s filling and sealing step. During shaping of the tooth, the dentist will seek to achieve an ideal shape, without removing internal tooth structure to an extent, or in a fashion, that might compromise the integrity of the tooth.

The dentist will then flush the canals with antibacterial solutions before filling them completely with a rubberlike biocompatible material called gutta-percha. The gutta-percha is placed with an adhesive cement to ensure complete sealing of the root canals. Often a temporary filling will be used to close the access hole opening.

Sealing the tooth from reinfection

The final step involves further restoration and sealing of the tooth. The gutta-percha filling and sealers will prevent bacteria from once again entering the tooth. To ensure that the affected tooth that has undergone a root canal to treat a large filling or extensive decay or other weakness, a crown, crown and post, or other restoration will often be placed on the tooth to protect it and prevent it from breaking. This helps restore the tooth to its full function. In some cases, dentists may leave the tooth open so additional material can drain out of the tooth before it is filled and sealed. Some dentists will put a temporary filling in the tooth to protect the area while the infected material drains away completely. In either case, your dentist will normally discuss the need for any additional dental work with you.

There are several instructions to be followed both during and post the root canal to manage the pain. Such as, one should not chew or bite on the treated tooth until you have had it restored by your dentist. The unrestored tooth is susceptible to fracture. Therefore, avoid delay in seeing your dentist for a full restoration.

If you’re looking for a rct treatment in Gurgaon, why not have a consultation at the The Dental Home to come up with a treatment plan tailored to your specific requirements? We’d be happy to help.