Root canal therapy or endodontic treatment is the removal of an infected pulp and nerve in the middle of a tooth to protect it from further decay. A root canal is performed in people with tooth caries if it’s past treatment with fillers. In the treatment, after removing the decayed part, the surgeon cleans the cavity, shapes it, fills and cements it with a rubber-like compound trans-polyisoprene, also known as gutta-percha, and places a dental crown over it to seal it from future infections. Although dental crowns after a root canal are recommended for molars and premolars, dentists try to avoid them in the front teeth unless the damage has gone too far.
Understanding Root Canal Pain: Causes, Treatment, and Prevention
A root canal isn’t an entirely pain-free process. During the procedure, you will get a local anesthetic to numb the pain in the area. Post-procedure, your doctor will prescribe you analgesic medication to take care of the pain that will normally last for a few more days, a week at the most. But what if the pain persists even after a week? Is it normal? Also, what is the level of pain that one should expect and bear after the procedure without worrying about the possibility that something might have gone wrong during it? Let’s find out.
What Causes Pain After a Root Canal?
It’s normal to experience a certain level of pain after endodontic treatment. As stated earlier, the pain usually lasts for 3 to 7 days and can be reduced with the help of painkillers. However, the causes of pain after a root canal may not always be the same. It could vary depending on the pain level one endures after the procedure. If the pain is within the normal range, it is possibly due to inflammation in the sensitive areas of the treated tooth, including the nerves. But what if the pain is way beyond the normal range and is making you want to pluck the tooth out of its socket? What causes that?
- Infection: Certain circumstances like not performing the procedure under sanitary conditions, not using sterile tools, or the treatment lacking proper finish, often lead to bacterial accumulation and consequent infection. Such infections increase pain levels and cause it to persist even after the normal healing period while making the breath stink.
- Damage to the nerves: This is even more serious since damage to the nerves not only causes excruciating pain but the life of the rest of the teeth as well. This usually happens during the procedure due to carelessness on the surgeon’s part or due to the complications of the situation.
While normal pain heals faster, excessive pain lasts longer and often gets worse over time. Tolerable levels of pain don’t need additional medication attention and will not have long-term effects. On the other hand, excessive pain needs immediate attention and if not taken care of sooner and properly, it could even be fatal.
How to Identify Whether You Have Excessive Pain After a Root Canal?
Although root canal treatment usually leaves you with a little pain, it’s nothing that cannot be managed by a course of prescribed analgesics. However, if the painkillers have no impact whatsoever on the situation and the pain is so excruciating that it stops you from going on about your day, not letting you focus on anything else except for the pain, it’s not normal. That’s how you usually identify excessive pain and get it treated to take care of the root problem. In certain cases, the individuals might have a higher pain tolerance which prevents them from distinguishing between what’s normal and what’s not, and will end up making the situation worse.
How to Manage Pain After a Root Canal?
Before visiting your dentist with your pain issue, there are certain tips and tricks that you could try at home to tone down the pain.
- For immediate relief, apply an ice pack: Applying an ice pack in the area that hurts can numb the pain faster than medications. You can place a few ice cubes in a clean piece of cloth, fold it, and then place it over the specific area to get temporary relief after 10 to 15 minutes of using the pack.
- Gargling with salt water: This remedy isn’t just for throat aches but for toothache as well. Salt, especially when mixed with hot water, activates its antimicrobial properties and reduces the severity of bacterial infection and inflammation in the mouth.
- Olive oil/ Clove oil: Both olive oil and clove oil help reduce infection post-root canal. Take a few drops of the oil, dip a small ball of cotton into it, and then place it inside the mouth where the treatment was performed.
- Avoid smoking and alcohol: Both worsen the inflammation in the area, making the pain unbearable. Avoiding both of them for at least a week will reduce the possibility of an infection and protect the nerves from getting damaged.
- Oral hygiene: This is the most important and most basic part of taking care of your oral cavity whether it’s post-procedure or pre-procedure. Brush twice a day using a brush with soft bristles and toothpaste with high fluoride concentration to avoid infections of any kind.
When to Seek Medical Attention?
The above-mentioned home remedies are meant to provide you with relief, if done right and if the condition is not as severe. However, if you don’t find any noticeable improvement even after trying all, or most of them, you need to consult your dentist to seek the actual reason behind your condition.
Since the pain shouldn’t last more than seven days, you can also seek medical consultation after the procedure if it hasn’t gone away even after a week, without trying the home remedies.
Conclusion
A root canal is a procedure in dentistry, developed to treat infected or decaying teeth. The procedure, although not completely pain-free, is manageable with a local anesthetic during, and analgesics post-procedure. In normal cases, the pain will be tolerable and completely go away within a week of it. However, in some cases, it persists longer than that, leading to serious consequences that might lead to losing teeth or even affecting the individual’s life.
The reasons behind such excruciating pain are mostly bacterial infection and nerve damage. While bacterial infection could cause more symptoms including bad breath besides excessive pain, nerve damage could shorten the lives of the rest of the teeth, especially the ones beside the treated tooth.
Excessive pain that you don’t think necessarily needs medical attention can be treated at home with ice packs, salt water, olive oil, clove oil, and an oral hygiene routine incorporating all the necessary elements. However, if it cannot resolved with any of these methods, you would need medical treatment, for which you need to meet with your doctor as soon as you recognize that the pain is not normal.
FAQs
Pain due to inflammation will last for 3 to 5 days. If it lasts any longer than that, it’s not normal and requires treatment.
With anesthesia, a root canal is a comparatively painless treatment. However, the pain level could increase post-procedure depending on the circumstances.
You probably have an infection, or in the worst case, nerve damage. Either way, the first thing you need to do is call your dentist and make an appointment to get the issue treated.
It is. The discomfort and pain may last for about a week and normally, can be managed with medication.
Pain in the jawbone is a common side effect of root canals which will persist for around a week. However, if the pain is accompanied by swelling and tenderness, it might be a sign of something severe, like the procedure affecting the bone in the area.
It’s not. Second visits are usually less painful and uncomfortable compared to the first one since the infection is already cleared during the first visit.
