Five of the most common myths about root canal therapy debunked
When a dental professional tells you that you need a root canal, you may feel slightly nervous. More dental patients fear having a root canal performed than any other dental procedure, due to the drummed up bad publicity surrounding this fairly straightforward dental treatment.
What is a root canal?
Root canal treatments (endodontics) are required when either the nerve or the blood supply to a tooth becomes infected. This typically occurs due to either an infection or an injury.
When the pulp of your tooth becomes infected, this infection can spread to the root canal part of the tooth and will eventually lead to an abscess. If untreated, this infection can spread, and you may lose the tooth and develop sepsis.
To prevent this, your dentist in Richmond will gently drill into the root canal segment of your tooth, remove the infected pulp, clean the inner area of the tooth and then fill the hole left by the drill.
Depending on the severity of the infection and the structure of your tooth, this procedure can take anywhere between 45 minutes to 3 hours. Although straightforward, the following is a list of myths about this treatment and the reality of this procedure broken down by dentist in Richmond, London.
Having a root canal hurts
People who have had root canals almost universally feel immense relief afterwards. If you have an infected pulp or an abscess, this can cause immense pain and thus having it treated by a professional alleviates the discomfort.
Your dental team will provide you with an injection to numb the area before proceeding, so you shouldn’t feel a thing. Plus, the nerve of the tooth is gone, so it really shouldn’t hurt afterwards!
You need multiple appointments to complete it
A root canal treatment alone can be a long procedure, but it will typically be completed in one sitting. Your tooth may need restoring to preserve the work; this won’t be completed on the same day and has caused confusion amongst patients as to the actual length of root canal treatments.
Having a root canal can make you ill
This myth stems from research performed by Dr.Weston Price in the early 20th century.
Modern attempts to replicate his research and methods have failed, thus his claims linking root canals to heart disease and cancer are accepted as false.
You need to be in pain before you can have a root canal
Your tooth does not have to cause discomfort to require a root canal; if your tooth is dead, your dental team may decide to remove the pulp to prevent infection.
Your tooth will break afterwards
The loss of the nerve or the pulp of your tooth can cause you to put excess force onto it, which in turn impact on it breaking. The root canal procedure itself does not cause teeth to spontaneously break, crack or become brittle.