The Importance of Saving Your Natural Teeth with Root Canal Therapy

An infected tooth causes excruciating pain, temperature sensitivity, pain when biting and chewing, pimples on your gums, deep decay or darkening, and swollen and tender gums. The symptoms described indicate you need a root canal because you may have a severely decayed tooth or one chipped or cracked due to impacts on your mouth or other reasons.

While you may have heard about a root canal, chances are high that you may need to learn what it is and how it works besides the results it provides. This article describes why it is essential to save your natural teeth affected by any of the above and experience the related symptoms. Even if not affected by the symptoms, it helps to learn about them because you may help someone save a natural tooth from extraction.

Understanding Root Canal Therapy: What It Is and How It Works

Root canal therapy helps eliminate bacteria from an infected root canal to prevent reinfection to save the natural tooth. When the dentist near you recommends a root canal, they remove the infected or inflamed pulp from inside the tooth before carefully cleaning and disinfecting it to fill and seal the tooth.

You should not express concern if recommended a root canal by the dentist because the process helps treat a damaged or diseased tooth. Millions of teeth undergo root canals annually to relieve pain and make teeth healthy.

Within your tooth and beneath the white tooth enamel layer and another layer of dentin lies a soft tissue called the dental pulp. The dental pulp houses the blood vessels, connective tissue, and nerves. The blood vessels, connective tissue, and nerves help nourish the root of your tooth during the developmental stages. However, a fully developed tooth can survive without the dental pulp because it receives nourishment from the tissues surrounding it.

Modern root canals are unlike similar therapies provided earlier. Instead, they are identical to getting dental fillings, usually completed in an appointment to two, depending on your tooth’s condition and personal circumstances. Root canals are relatively painless and super effective. The treatment will have you smiling, biting, and chewing with ease before you realize it.

The Benefits of Saving Your Tooth with a Root Canal

When your tooth receives root canal care in Phoenix, AZ, the dentist performing the treatment ensures efficient chewing, regular biting force, sensation, and natural looks and protects your remaining teeth from excessive wear and strain. You also overcome the symptoms you experience to start leading a healthy life without fearing challenges when biting, drinking, or discoloring your teeth and gums because the dentist helps you eliminate the infection from within your tooth.

Can You Return to Work Soon after a Root Canal?

Your mouth will likely be numb for four to six hours after a root canal from the anesthesia you receive during the treatment. Although many patients return to work following a root canal, the dentist in 85043 recommends resting for a day or two to prevent bleeding from the treated tooth. In addition, they advise you against eating until the numbness has subsided to prevent you from biting your tongue or cheeks or burning your throat when drinking hot beverages.

Although root canals are painless, when receiving the treatment, you will experience some discomfort for about 72 hours from the therapy. This is because root canals are a painful procedure that specialists perform daily. While helping you eliminate the infection inside a tooth requires follow-up and care until you recover from it in approximately a week or ten days. Meanwhile, you must refrain from strenuous activities, smoking, or consuming alcohol, and have a diet of soft foods until you no longer feel pain from the treated tooth.

After you no longer feel tooth pain, you must see the Arizona dentist for a follow-up appointment to re-evaluate your progress. At that time, they recommend that you get the tooth restored with a dental crown from your regular dentist.

The dental crown is essential because root canals render a tooth fragile and prone to fractures and breakage to need additional protection with a dental crown to restore the tooth’s strength, appearance, and functionality. Getting a dental crown from your dentist may require a couple of appointments, depending on whether you are getting traditional or same-day crowns. However, the treatment prevents needing tooth removal and replacement with dental implants or bridges to help you preserve your natural tooth and save plenty of money in the bargain.

Arizona Family Dentistry performs many root canals on patients reporting the symptoms described earlier to help them save their natural teeth. If you or a loved one experiences similar symptoms, kindly contact them to receive a root canal and benefit from its advantages.