Pain After Root Canal Treatment

How many of you are scared of the dental treatments? I guess most of you detest the visit to the dental clinic, due to the possibility of tooth extraction, filling, root canal treatment, etc. Though root canal treatment is to save your tooth, many give a second thought to it. Why? Just because of the pain after root canal! The pain is not really traumatic because there isn't a lot of grinding as compared to that during a filling or a crown. There is really nothing to be worried about. In fact, the root canal treatment is done to prevent and solve toothache problems. The tooth extraction procedure is more painful than the root canal. But what about pain after root canal? Is it common or a symptom of more complications? Here are the details.

Reasons of Pain After Root Canal Treatment
In most of the cases of pain after root canal, the source of toothache is the inside of your tooth. The tissue inside your tooth hurts because it is infected with deep decay or trauma. The ligament attaching the tooth to the bone could be the other source of pain after root canal procedure. The infection in your tooth spreads, infecting the bone around the tooth's root. This is where the pain after a root canal treatment comes from; the ligament around the tooth. Since the tissue inside the tooth will be removed, the pain after it is unlikely.

When you first experience a toothache, the earlier you seek the treatment, the less likely you are to have pain after root canal treatment. Here's the reason behind this. Once you have a tooth decay, the more this infection spreads, the more difficult it will be to eradicate the infection. It can be removed completely, if it is inside your tooth. But if it spreads to the bone, you can only get the source of infection removed and the rest has to be taken care of by your body.

While the soft tissue inside your tooth is being removed during the root canal treatment, some of this tissue will inevitably be pushed out of the end of your tooth, through the apex and into the bone. The more infected the tooth is, the greater is the irritation. Even the instruments used during this might penetrate the apex and cause irritation.

When these things happen, your experience pain afterwards. But, this doesn't mean that the dentist has not done his job properly, rather it is believed that if there is some pain after the root canal, the treatment is rightly done.

Remedies for Pain after Root Canal
The dentist will possible reduce the treated tooth, so that later on it won't be touched when you clench together. This is a very effective technique and shows immediate results.

Your dentist may give you some anti-inflammatory medication like ibuprofen, because the body's inflammatory reaction might lead to swelling of the tooth, making you hit it harder than other tooth.

You might be given some antibiotics after the root canal treatment, if the infection inside your tooth has spread to the bone around the apex. These antibiotics will help in the healing process.

Possible Complications
If a root canal treated tooth has pain aggravated by cold temperatures, then remember, this is entirely different. It comes from inside your tooth and indicates that there is still living tissue in your tooth. It is possible that there is an extra canal which was not visible to your dentist. Consult your dentist to know the exact problem.

The canal may not be cleaned out completely because sometimes it is difficult to locate canals within the tooth. Also, pieces of infected or inflamed pulp might have been left near the bottom. In this case, the tooth will remain infected and the root canal treatment will have to be repeated.

Delayed Root Canal Pain
It may happen that your tooth heals and you feel normal. But, after a few days it begins to hurt, this probably indicates that the root canal procedure has failed and you might require a re-treatment for that tooth. Though the chances of this are very less, sometimes, the tooth might also have to be extracted if nothing works.

Precautions for Avoiding Pain After Root Canal Treatment
Don't chew on the treated tooth which is undergoing or has undergone the root canal treatment. You should minimize chewing on this tooth and follow your doctor's recommendation about the same. The reason for this is as follows:

1. Sometimes a temporary filling is placed in the tooth when more than one appointment is needed for the root canal treatment. This temporary filling might come out and the saliva and debris might again contaminate the interior of your tooth and as a result your dentist will have to clean your tooth for the second time.
2. It might happen that you feel that the tooth which is being given the root canal treatment is fine and you make use of it. But, before your dentist has finished rebuilding your tooth, you should considered it fragile. This may lead to cracking or breakage of the tooth even before you completed the root canal treatment to restore it.

Dentist completely numbs your tooth and the surrounding area before starting the root canal treatment. If this doesn't seem to be working, you should tell the dentist right away so that he/she can modify the technique and avoid further pain.

You need to understand that if a doctor advises a root canal treatment for your tooth, he is just saving it from extraction. If you follow the dental care routine and precautions suggested by him during and after the treatment, you won't experience any pain. If you have any pain after root canal, feel free to contact your dentist and ensure a good dental health without further complications.