Common Myths About Root Canal Therapy

If you've been experiencing severe tooth pain that worsens when you eat, with sensitivity lingering long after you've finished your meal or had a drink, you may require root canal therapy.

What Is Root Canal Therapy?

Root canal therapy focuses on preserving a tooth rather than extracting it.

Endodontic therapy, also known as root canal therapy, is a dental treatment that removes infection from within the tooth and returns it to normal function.

Root canal therapy may be required for the following indications:

• Physical trauma to the teeth

• Irritation due to deep decay or a substantial filling

• Bacterial leaking from an outdated filling or crown

• Severe gum disease

Sometimes there is no discomfort at all. The nerves in a damaged tooth can progressively die over time, desensitizing it, and allowing infection to develop quietly inside the tooth, generating a 'time-bomb' effect that causes pain weeks, months, or even years later. Other symptoms may include a small, pimple-like lesion on the gums near the source of dental pain, tooth discoloration, and/or gum soreness or swelling.

Similarly, not all types of dental discomfort necessitate root canal therapy, so it's critical to maintain frequent dental consultations with your clinic so that your dentist may detect any indicators of minor problems early on.

What's Involved?

Root canal therapy is removing inflammatory or infected pulp from the tooth before it is cleaned and sanitized inside, then filled and sealed. To safeguard the tooth, it is routinely repaired with a crown or filling.

Let's debunk some of the falsehoods you may have heard before agreeing to therapy.

Myth 1 - It is quite painful

To begin with, root canal therapy is all about treating pain rather than generating it, which is what happens in most cases when infection spreads to the root of a tooth. Unfortunately, root canal therapy has received a bad reputation over the years; even US President Barack Obama stated that the much-despised bank bailout was 'as popular as a root canal' in 2010.

However, like with all science, dental innovation is continuously evolving, and today, with the use of cutting-edge equipment and predictable and painless anesthetic treatments, root canal therapy is no more painful than a tooth filling.

If you discover a dental clinic that has extensive experience with this therapy, you will be in good hands.

Myth 2 - Root canal therapy can spread infection and disease throughout the body

Root canal therapy is considerably superior to tooth extraction, which is sometimes the only other option. Extracting a tooth increases the likelihood of bacteria entering the bloodstream, but a well-performed root canal operation keeps all therapy contained within the root canals, decreasing trauma and the likelihood of bacteria entering the bloodstream.

In fact, root canal therapy can enhance your oral health, reducing the risk of disease, as well as restoring the health and function of a damaged tooth.

Myth 3 - Root canal therapy does not last long

You may have heard of people breaking their teeth just months after receiving root canal treatments, leading you to believe that the treatment failed. It is more likely that they did not have a crown installed, which seals and reinforces the tooth. When a nerve is removed from the inside of a tooth, the blood supply is cut off, causing the tooth to become brittle over time. As a result, grinding, eating, and even talking can cause the tooth to break. Not all teeth, such as those in the front of the mouth or those that are particularly strong, will require a crown.

As with any dental procedure, consult with a good dental clinic about your alternatives, what to expect during treatment, the outcomes and advantages, and, of course, the hazards of not receiving treatment.