Root Canal Treatment: Five Myths That Keep People From Booking

More people delay root canal treatment out of fear than out of anything to do with the treatment itself. That fear is usually built on a handful of things people have heard rather than been through — so here are five of them, and what's actually true.

Myth 1: “Root canal treatment causes the pain”

The opposite. An infected or badly inflamed nerve is what's causing the pain — root canal treatment removes it. The source is gone, so the pain goes with it, rather than being caused by the appointment.

Myth 2: “It's the most painful thing dentistry does”

For most people it feels much like having a large filling — long, rather than painful. The tooth is thoroughly numbed with local anaesthetic first, and the most common thing patients say afterwards is that they'd built it up into something far worse than it turned out to be.

Myth 3: “It's better to just take the tooth out”

Extraction is sometimes the right answer, but it isn't automatically the easier one. A missing tooth needs replacing — with an implant, a bridge or a denture — or the teeth around the gap tend to drift over time. Root canal treatment keeps your own tooth, which is usually the simpler outcome once you account for what comes after an extraction. Extractions and oral surgery covers the cases where taking the tooth out genuinely is the better route.

Myth 4: “One appointment fixes it completely, no aftercare needed”

Some mild tenderness for a few days afterwards is normal, as the tissue around the tooth settles. It usually responds to ordinary painkillers. What it shouldn't be is the same severe pain that brought you in — if it is, that's worth a call, not something to wait out.

Myth 5: “If the pain has stopped, I don't need to bother”

This is the one worth taking seriously. When a badly infected nerve dies, the pain often stops — but the infection doesn't. It moves quietly out of the end of the root and into the bone instead. A tooth that has gone quiet, especially one that's tender to press or has developed a small pimple on the gum nearby, still needs looking at.

This is general information about root canal treatment, not a diagnosis of your own tooth — a painful or discoloured tooth needs an examination, not a guess from an article.

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