Don’t Be Afraid Of Root Canal Treatment

12 / 10 / 2017

Don’t Be Afraid Of Root Canal Treatment

Dispelling The Myths Surrounding This Essential Dental Procedure

It is likely that you will have heard the term ‘root canal’ in a film or on TV, maybe denoting something extremely painful. Unfortunately, this myth has been around for a long time now, and many patients still exhibit initial anxiety when told that they need the procedure at our Ipswich dental surgery.

In today’s blog, we take a look at why the root canal procedure may have gained this undeserved reputation, and why you really should not be afraid, if told that you need it to save an infected tooth.

The myth

The likelihood is that the root canal’s reputation stems from a time when X-rays were not routinely used. If an abscess was present and undetected, this could have been extremely painful indeed when the treatment proceeded.

Patients of the Lighthouse Dental Practice can be assured that we routinely X-ray the problem tooth to check for any abscesses. If any are detected, the procedure will be postponed until they have been treated, often with antibiotics. The absence of a dental abscess, along with the fact that local anaesthetics are now more powerful than in the past, means that you should experience little discomfort during the treatment, and generally no more than with many other invasive dental procedures.

Saving the natural tooth

As we have mentioned in a previous blog, a root canal procedure is carried out when the pulp material in the root canals of the tooth becomes infected. In essence, the infected material is removed and replaced with a special dental filling (gutta percha). The tooth then has a dental crown attached, leaving it natural-looking and relatively strong.

It should be noted that, when a tooth has been treated with root canal therapy, the nerves that give the tooth its sensitivity will no longer be present. This leaves the patient with what is, in effect, a ‘dead’ tooth. This is not a major problem, but you should bear in mind that it can be more difficult to judge how hard you are biting when using that tooth. For this reason, and because the tooth will be slightly weaker than a healthy tooth, we advise that you avoid eating very hard foods with it, and try to chew in another area of your mouth.

The root canal treatment is just one of a number of complex dental procedures that our Ipswich dentists carry out quite regularly. Their experience and reputation for gentle patient care means that your visit to the Lighthouse Dental Practice will be as comfortable as it possibly can be.

To arrange an appointment at our Ipswich dentist, please call us on 01473 257 379.

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If you would like to speak to a member of our friendly team about any of the issues in this article please visit our contact page or call us on 01473 257379.