When Is Root Canal Treatment Needed?

Although it is a good thing that dentistry offers multiple alternatives for handling various oral issues, it can get overwhelming when you have to choose just one. Ideally, you should select the dental treatment that best suits your underlying oral needs without compromising your other preferences and expectations. When treating diseased and damaged teeth, you have options, including tooth extractions, dental fillings, or root canals.

What Is a Root Canal Treatment?

It is an endodontic procedure in dentistry that repairs and restores tooth roots and pulps to save natural teeth. Root canal therapy focuses on treating the inner layers of diseased or damaged teeth to increase their lives.

The root canal process does not usually tamper with the structural framework of your tooth. The goal is to remove the damaged tissues inside your tooth without damaging the external structure. Ideally, as long as it remains attached to the jawbone, a mature adult tooth can continue to function well without the inner tissues, including nerve endings, blood vessels, and connective tissues.

When Do You Need Root Canal Treatment?

More often than not, a dentist will be the one to recommend root canal therapy for your treatment. After a comprehensive dental exam, a dentist is the best person to lay out a treatment plan most suitable for your current oral needs. Dentists at Mass Bay Dental will typically recommend RCT dental protocols for the following circumstances:

1. A sensitive tooth – enamel hypersensitivity is a very real issue that can interfere with the quality of your life. It makes it difficult to enjoy foods at different temperatures. A great way to treat such discomfort is through a root canal procedure.
2. A toothache – there are many ways to treat a toothache, including a root canal procedure. Instead of losing your natural tooth, a root canal treatment in Salem, MA, will treat the root cause of the pain so you can keep it intact.
3. A tooth abscess – is an infection in a tooth that manifests in its roots. The infection builds up pus, which collects in a small pocket that settles at the base of a tooth. You will notice an abscessed tooth by the swelling and tenderness of your gums right underneath the diseased tooth.
4. A tooth fracture – a crack, chip, or break on a tooth can necessitate a root canal treatment. Although tooth fractures do not always damage the inner layers of teeth, some cases stand out. If you experience any pain and sensitivity in your fractured tooth, you need a root canal procedure to restore it.

Is the Procedure Painful?

In the past, patients had to endure painful endodontic treatments to save their natural teeth. It is an invasive means of treating a tooth that may already be causing severe aches. However, modern dentistry ensures that root canal procedures are painless. Local anesthesia is a great solution for overcoming dental pain by numbing your mouth. It ensures that you will feel nothing throughout your treatment. The numbing effect may last a couple of hours after your procedure.

Aside from local anesthesia, endodontists employ sedation dentistry to better the experience for patients during their treatments. Different levels of sedation can help you remain consciously calm or asleep during your treatment. Either way, you will not have trouble with dental anxiety or phobias regarding any steps of the procedure.

What to Expect After a Root Canal Treatment

After a successful treatment by your dentist, you have to prepare for dental care at home. The goal is to care for your oral health while remaining mindful of your recently treated tooth. Some of the things you should anticipate after an endodontic procedure are:

1. Heightened tooth sensitivity – due to dental work to treat your tooth, it may experience some sensitivity during recovery. The sensitivity might also cut across two of the adjacent teeth. However, the sensitivity should wear off after a couple of recovery days.
2. An uneven bite – since only one of your teeth is treated, it will stand out from the rest. You will feel like your bite is improperly aligned because of the tooth. This feeling goes away after a day or two.
3. Swelling and tenderness – the treated site will feel tender to touch and might swell for the first two or so days. It gets better later.