If you wait a long time to undergo a root canal, bacteria will attack the tip of the tooth's root, causing serious bone loss. Such bone loss can result in tooth loss.
If a root canal is delayed for too long, the bacterial infection can spread to other areas of the mouth, putting the patient at risk for serious dental problems and other medical conditions. The infection can cause something called a dental abscess, which is a pus filled sac that requires immediate medical attention.
A Root Canal Counts As An Emergency Dental Treatment
A root canal is typically considered to fall under the umbrella of emergency dentistry. Tooth infections are extremely painful and uncomfortable, and they can cause serious complications if they are left untreated, including the death of the infected tooth.
You must undergo a root canal within a few weeks to fully eliminate the infection and save your tooth.
Options When You Cannot Afford Root Canal Treatment
Ask about payment plans – Many dentists offer payment plans for treatment. For example, you can pay for treatment over several months. Ask about financing – CareCredit® is a health care credit card that offers low- or no-interest financing for qualifying applicants.
Although antibiotics will not be effective in lieu of a root canal, your provider may prescribe a preventive course of these medications following your root canal treatment. This is to reduce your risk of developing infection in the bone surrounding the tooth, which prophylactic antibiotics are very effective at doing.
Root Canal Treatment Can Save the Tooth.
If you neglect treatment of a root canal problem long enough, you're at serious risk for losing the infected tooth.
You might still need a root canal even if you do not feel any pain because not all infection results in pain. The purpose of a root canal is to handle any infection that has developed in your tooth pulp, not just stop you from feeling pain. A root canal can save your infected tooth from having to be extracted.
What is the Typical Age for Root Canal Treatment? There is no specific age for root canal treatment. If any individual is experiencing a severe tooth infection, they may require root canal therapy in Yellowknife. However, it is more likely for an individual to require root canal therapy between the ages of 12 to 65.
This includes the type of tooth, shape of the canal system, and current or past injury. While an endodontist can perform the procedure regardless of the circumstances of these aspects, general dentists will typically only do so when the conditions are less complex.
An alternative to a root canal is a tooth extraction, in which your dentist can replace a damaged tooth with a bridge, partial denture, or implant. This can be an expensive treatment and usually requires several visits to your doctor. If you're a candidate for a root canal, you'll likely experience less pain over time.
When we take periodic x-rays of your teeth, we can detect a root canal infection long before it shows any symptoms and becomes serious.
Dental treatment alternatives to a root canal include direct pulp capping, pulpotomy, pulpectomy, endodontic retreatment, endodontic surgery, tooth extraction, dental implants, bridges, or dentures.
The dentist will determine the need for a root canal through one or several of the following methods: x-rays, the cavity test, selective anesthesia (to identify where the source of pain is when the patient doesn't know), thermal and electric testing, or by tapping on the problem tooth.
In short, when you need a root canal, it may feel like throbbing pain due to infection inside of the root of your tooth. A visible fistula, swelling, or temperature sensitivity might be present. Bacteria can also lead to foul-tasting drainage along the gum tissue near your root.
While root canals are pretty common, there are some drawbacks to having this procedure done. One of those drawbacks is that it might weaken the tooth. Dentists have to drill through the tooth in order to get to the pulp, and additional decay might have to be removed.
According to this report, 98 percent of root canals last one year, 92 percent last five years, and 86 percent last ten years or longer. Molars treated by endodontists had a 10 year survival rate, significantly higher than that of molars treated by general dentists.
One-Visit Approach
Modern tools and improved technology have made it possible to perform root canal in one visit. Also, the reasoning behind splitting the procedure into multiple sessions was to see if any flare ups occurred, and if not, it was sign you are ready for sealing.
In most cases, root canal therapy is a better way to treat an infected tooth than an extraction. However, there are exceptions, such as if the tooth has suffered extreme damage. Your dentist will carefully analyze your oral health before making a treatment recommendation.
For many patients, getting a root canal is no more painful than getting a cavity filled thanks to the use of local anesthetic and modern endodontic techniques. Most people report feeling comfortable throughout their procedure, feeling pressure and movement at times, but not pain.
The root canal procedure is completed in two separate visits to ensure that the tooth is thoroughly cleaned out, sealed up, and protected from further damage.
Root canals are sometimes uncomfortable and costly, so it can be disappointing to hear that you may also require a crown. While not necessary in every case, crowns can provide the protection and stability needed to extend the life of a tooth.
During any root canal, body tissues not directly being treated have a chance to become agitated and mildly inflamed. In the case of throbbing pain after a root canal, the culprit is the bone surrounding the tooth. The bone tissue becomes irritated and provokes some discomfort. For most patients, this is very mild.