ROOT CANAL PAIN EXPLAINED

Pain can be as subjective as success and failure, or love and hate. It starts with each of us and our ability to withstand discomfort and pain. The pain that is related to a root canal is not the root canal procedure, but the infected tooth prior to having the procedure. In fact, once you mention the term root canal have the population experiences increased anxiety due to the misunderstanding of the level of pain involved. Let’s identify the contributing issues that result in a nasty toothache and root canal pain.

The factors behind the pain

Your tooth is a living part of your mouth. That hard enamel shell is covering dentin and a soft tissue chamber in the center. The soft tissue is made up of pulp, blood vessels and nerves. The blood vessels travel the root canal and deliver nutrition to the tooth. The nerves send signals in the opposite direction to the brain. If you crack that tooth, or experience a fracture, or don’t pay attention to a nasty cavity, bacteria will find its way into the pulp and create infection and disease. This is when the nerves start to do their job by delivering signals to your brain that this tooth is experiencing some pain, as are you. That pain can only continue to build as the tooth is left unattended. It can really get bad over time with the result being an abscess at the root of the tooth. At some point you may have to have the tooth removed versus trying to save the tooth with a root canal procedure.

The Painless Procedure

Keep in mind you have contacted your dentist because you are experiencing discomfort or some level of pain with a particular tooth. The dentist will exam the tooth and then confirm the problem with an x-ray. Once it has been determined that the tooth is indeed infected but can be saved through a root canal procedure, the pain quite honestly will have peeked. Whether it be your dentist or an endodontist, an injection or two around the infected tooth with an anesthetic will immediately numb the tooth and from this point forward the balance of the root canal procedure is relatively painless. If the tooth is a front tooth there will be a small hole drilled on the back side. If the tooth is a molar the hole will go through the crown on top. The decayed and diseased pulp is removed, the space is cleaned quite deliberately to make sure all bacteria is gone, and the space is then filled with a rubber like material called gutta-percha. Cement is used to seal the chamber and a temporary filling is added. Again, depending on the severity of the infection, you may have immediate pain relief. Or, you may have sore surrounding tissue that the dentist might send you home with an oral pain reliever until the swelling and soreness diminishes. With technology being what it is today the fact that a root canal is painful is really just a myth. It’s the infection prior to that is the culprit.

West Mobile Dental Care, located in Mobile, provides the full range of preventative, restorative, and cosmetic dental procedures including root canal. Contact our office today to find out more about our practice and how we can help you with your oral health.

If you're just interested in learning more about root canal in general, here's some additional reading on what the procedure typically looks like.