Tackling Your Dental Treatment Plan

Root canal pain is caused by a severe infection of the pulp cavity, which contains soft tissue and nerve endings inside the tooth. A root canal is the dental procedure used to treat an infected pulp cavity, where all the diseased nerve endings, blood vessels and connective tissues are removed by an endodontist and the remaining root cavity cleaned and sealed to prevent further infection.

Root canal therapy is safe and stops inflammation, swelling and pain as well as preventing infection from spreading to other organs. Unfortunately, there are many misconceptions surrounding root canal (endodontic) therapy. Here is a look at common myths and the truths behind them to act as a guide for you as you explore your root canal treatment options.

Myth #1—A good alternative to root canal treatment is extraction

Truth- Saving your tooth, if possible, is way better than having it pulled out.

Root canal treatment should always be recommended before extraction of an infected tooth. The therapy is very effective at stopping pain and inflammation of the pulp cavity, and it will result in you keeping your natural tooth possibly for a lifetime.

Extraction should only be done as a last resort, as nothing can ever fully replace a lost natural tooth. Endodontic treatment is also a more cost-effective way of treating a tooth with an infected root canal than pulling it out, as placement of dental bridges or implants require more time in treatment and complex procedures to anchor the artificial tooth and adjust adjacent teeth.

Myth #2—Root canal treatment is painful

Truth- Root canal therapy is painless and helps relieve tooth pain.

This myth began decades ago when modern technology had not fully caught on in the area of endodontics, but modern root canal treatment is described by most patients as safe and painless.

The use of anesthesia and modern technologies to remove infected parts of the pulp cavity makes root canal treatment no more uncomfortable than getting a filling. Not having a root canal if you have an infected tooth will, in fact, result in increasingly severe pain, so getting the treatment early is your best option.

Myth #3—Root canal treatment causes illness

Truth - A root canal is safe and prevents illness rather than causing it.

This myth is based on poor research from over a century ago before medicine fully understood what causes diseases. The truth is that a root canal will remove any bacteria causing infection in your tooth's pulp cavity, resulting in reduced inflammation.

The procedure also reduces the amount of bacteria entering the bloodstream from the infected tooth, preventing serious infections from spreading to the heart, kidneys and other major organs.