A damaged tooth enables bacteria in your mouth to penetrate it, creating infections deep inside the tooth. The bacteria infect the soft center of the tooth, the dental pulp. Root canal treatments help eliminate the disease and prevent its extraction, the only alternative for dental pulp infections.
If a specific tooth is damaged by deep decay or impacts on your mouth, your mouth bacteria eventually find their way to the dental pulp to infect and inflame it. As a result, you experience excruciating pain in the tooth besides lingering temperature sensitivity and a dental abscess near the tooth roots oozing pus. When you visit the dentist in San Antonio complaining about tooth pain and sensitivity, they x-ray the tooth to ascertain the damage and suggest a root canal to eradicate the infection from within.
Root canals are fearsome and can make you think they are better avoided. However, if you leave the infection untreated, the dentist must extract your tooth to impact your mouth functionality and smile. On the other hand, if you accept the dentist’s proposal, you help save both by receiving the treatment from them.
How Root Canal Treatment Saves a Damaged or Infected Tooth
When performing this tooth-preserving treatment, the root canal dentist in San Antonio numbs your tooth with local anesthesia and provides sedation if your dental anxiety levels are high.
After you are relaxed and your mouth is numb, the dentist drills your tooth to expose the dental pulp for removal. They remove the infected or inflamed dental pulp with the nerves and clean and disinfect the canals before filling and sealing them with a rubber-like biocompatible material, gutta-percha. In addition, the dentist closes the access hole drilled with a temporary filling advising you to restore the tooth with a dental crown after you recover.
Eradicating the infection from inside your tooth by receiving root canals near you helps avoid the excruciating pain you feel. In addition, it prevents the need for extraction to preserve your damaged or infected tooth for many years. Root canals succeed by 98 percent, allowing people to use the treated tooth for many years after restoring it with a dental crown.
How Many Hours Does a Root Canal Take?
Although root canals are fearsome, they do not need much time because the dentist completes them in approximately 40 minutes if the treatment is required on an anterior tooth. Unfortunately, if you need a root canal on a molar having multiple canals, the procedure requires more time and will take approximately 90 minutes to complete. Occasionally you might need a second appointment with the San Antonio dentist to ensure all canals in the tooth are cleaned and disinfected. However, the time you spend with the dentist is worthwhile because it helps preserve your natural tooth.
What Not to Do After a Root Canal?
After receiving intensive therapy such as a root canal, your mouth remains numb for four to six hours after the procedure. Although you might feel like having a coffee or eating, you must refrain from doing so until the numbness dissipates to prevent injuries in your mouth by biting your tongue or scalding your throat. In addition, you must avoid smoking or consuming alcohol after this painful therapy. Smoking inhibits your recovery, and alcohol interacts with the medication you receive to alleviate pain and discomfort after the procedure.
You can start eating after the numbness wears off, remembering that you must restrict yourself to soft foods without considering the crunchy and complex variety. Instead, you can rely on foods like yogurt, applesauce, smoothies, et cetera to ensure you don’t dislodge the temporary filling in the treated tooth until you restore it.
You must avoid strenuous activity for at least 24 hours and continue the practice for another two days to prevent bleeding from the tooth and aggravating pain. When cleaning your mouth, you must remain gentle with the treated tooth and refrain from using over-the-counter mouthwash brands because they contain alcohol.
Although root canal treatments are considered painful, the reality is entirely different because they help alleviate the pain you feel from the infection to help preserve your tooth. Therefore, any discomfort you experience after the procedure emanates from the treatment, not the disorder confirming that you have successfully eradicated the condition from within your tooth by receiving a root canal from the San Antonio dentist.
Finally, when you restore the tooth with a dental crown as suggested by the dentist, you help protect it from additional damage and regain usage of it for many years.
Terrell Hills Dental performs many root canals weekly to help patients preserve their natural teeth by eradicating severe infections. If you experience severe pain in a specific tooth, contact them to protect your beautiful smile by receiving a root canal.