Root Canal? Fear Not.

Your tooth has been throbbing for a while now, and nothing seems to settle it down.  So you finally make that call to get it checked out, and you hear those dreaded words: root canal (cue the ominous organ music— da, da, dunnnnn).  Well, take heart; you are in good company.  Over 41,000 root canals are performed in the U.S. every day.  You have probably been impacted by the stories from your parents and grandparents about how unpleasant root canals are.  But there are several reasons why your root canal is not your parents.  Today's root canal has little to no down time.  The discomfort is more than manageable— similar to having a cavity filled, and in the vast majority of cases, it is a long term solution. So, if you have been told you need a root canal, fear not.

Minimal Discomfort

Pain might be the biggest fear associated with going to the dentist.  The mouth is filled with nerve endings that make us keenly aware of any sensation within it.  Naturally, we get a little apprehensive when we think about lying back in a chair while someone tugs and scrapes.  However, treatment and training have come a long way.  Advances through research make dental treatment in general much more comfortable than it used to be.  The result of these advances in technique and procedure mean that a root canal today has about the same amount of discomfort as getting a tooth filled.

Fast Recovery

The recovery time after a root canal is about like a filling, too.  The next fear that might plague the patient considering this procedure is— how long will I be off of my routine?  Of course, you will feel the effects of the procedure, but they are minimal.  The numbness from the anesthetic lasts from two to four hours, and in most cases, the minimal soreness is easily treated with over the counter medication.  The majority of those 41,000 people per day go right back to work or school.  When you get a root canal, you don't have to be afraid of being out of commission for a long time.

Lasting Results

What does last a long time, however, are the results.  In the vast majority of cases, the treatment of a root canal lasts 10 years or longer.  That means you keep your actual tooth (always the best option) and you don't have to think about pain in that tooth again.  The long term benefits of the root canal far outweigh any of the temporary concerns.  A root canal is a common sense approach to your overall dental health.  When you consider the fact that the discomfort is extremely manageable and downtime is almost nil and add the fact that it is a long term solution, a root canal makes sense.  So if you've heard the words root canal, turn down the orchestral overture of doom playing in the background and approach your appointment with confidence.  There is nothing to fear in today's root canal.