3 Reasons Why You Won’t Regret Root Canal Therapy

If you’re scheduled for root canal therapy in the near future, you might be feeling a little nervous—after all, television and movies often portray root canals as painful, frightening, and even a little unsettling. But this couldn’t be further from the truth; in reality, root canals are absolutely nothing you should be worried about, and they’re actually quite useful when it comes to treating compromised teeth. Here are three reasons why you won’t regret undergoing root canal therapy.

#1. It’s Not as Painful as You Think

By definition, a root canal sounds like a potentially painful procedure; after all, your dentist does technically need to create a canal inside of your tooth. But a root canal isn’t painful at all and often provides an immense amount of pain relief! Your mouth is numbed for the entirety of the session with local numbing agents or sometimes general anesthesia, and most patient’s actually claim that it’s not any more uncomfortable than receiving a dental filling. That said, you still might experience some discomfort after the numbness wears off, but this is usually mild and only lasts for a couple of days.

#2. It Gives Your Tooth a Second Chance

A root canal is most necessary when the soft pulp inside of your affected tooth becomes infected, inflamed, or diseased. The resulting cavity that often forms can expand into the nerve of the tooth and cause you a great deal of pain! Eventually, the tooth becomes so damaged that something must be done in order to save it and provide relief. A root canal allows your dentist to clear the infected pulp from inside the tooth and seal it back up to prevent further issues (usually with a dental restoration like a crown). This gives your tooth the chance to remain inside your mouth where it belongs, which is the preferred option to having it extracted and replaced.

#3. The Alternative is Worse

If you still think root canal therapy sounds bad, you should consider how the alternative is much worse. Your teeth are the best available tools at your disposal for biting, chewing, talking, and so on, meaning that losing them isn’t in your best interest at all! If the infection has led to something severe like an abscessed tooth, usually an extraction is performed in order to stave off other potential oral health issues. That said, lost teeth can be replaced with solutions including dentures, bridges, implants, and more—however, these solutions are often more expensive than root canal therapy, take much longer to complete, and have varying recovery timelines.

Root canal therapy has an unfair reputation; it’s a relatively straightforward, painless, and useful procedure that can easily give a compromised tooth a renewed chance at life. If your dentist has informed you that it can help your situation, it’s certainly something you won’t regret!

About the Practice

The team at Avon Dental Group is honored to serve patients and families in the Avon, MA area under the leadership of Dr. Purvesh Malaviya and Dr. Mrugank Sardhara. They combine several years of experience to offer a wide range of available services, including root canal therapy. If you have any questions or concerns about root canal therapy, don’t hesitate to contact Avon Dental Group through their website or over the phone for assistance: (508) 587-8300.