There are many confusions and debates regarding root canal (endodontic) treatment and whether the treatment is actually painful or not. After watching a youtube video of a person crying out in pain while getting a root canal or listening to radio on your way back home- some RJ saying, this should hurt like a root canal, patients often correlate pain with root canals
Myth #1—Root canal treatment is painful.
Truth—Root canal treatment doesn’t cause pain, it relieves it. With modern dentistry and advent of new technology, root canals are not painful. In fact, a recent survey showed that patients who have experienced root canal treatment are six times more likely to describe it as “painless” than patients who have not had root canal treatment. A deep cavity which has already crossed the hard part of tooth and has reached the nerve will be painful if not treated. Once a root canal is done your pain should effectively be reduced or if the dentist could finish the whole treatment in a day, you could be pain free. So, when one of your friend says, it hurts like a root canal- send him our way!
Myth #2— I Dont have pain- I dont have cavities
Truth— This is one of the biggest misconceptions we have when it comes to our teeth. Cavities or tooth decay can occur at any age and in most cases are not painful or noticeable during the initials phases. In some cases as your cavities get bigger you may not feel any pain until the decay has reached the nerve inside your tooth.
The best way to fight tooth decay is to prevent it from occurring in the first place. This can be done with proper dental care and hygiene. However, if you are not able to prevent tooth decay, you will have a cavity and the second best thing to do is to restore (fill) it with a resin or other filling materials. If you have passed the phase of restoring your cavity, this means that the bacteria in your mouth has dug its way deeper into your tooth and have reached your pulp (nerve). In this case you will not be able to get a simple filling to restore the tooth. Instead extensive work such as a root canal or a crown may be needed to fix the condition of the tooth.
Most cavities occur in hard to reach areas inside your month, such as in between two teeth. Your dentist can detect these cavities with a simple x-ray and restore them early on. Regular dental checkups, the use of diagnostic techniques, and early treatment with preventative or interventional dentistry, can help in maintaining healthy teeth that will last you a life time!
Myth #3– Implants Hurt
Truth— No, it does not. What about extraction? How was your experience when the dentist pulled the tooth? Implants are not even close to the discomfort which you have been thru. When doing the implants, it not only is a pain free process, but it usually is quicker a surgery then you will imagine. In our clinic, single implants are done under a 20 minute window, start to finish, by Dr Rao. A same day extraction, implant and a crown process could be done for patients driving from a distance. There are many misconceptions regarding pain and how difficult the surgery is. With modern techniques like CBCT and surgical stents, the ambiguity in implant surgery is greatly sidelined. Now we can perform a full mouth implant rehab in half a day, when 5-6 years this used to be a multi day task.