Root Canal Treatment or RCT is a procedure that is done to repair and save a damaged tooth instead of removing it. Beneath the hard exterior of the tooth called the crown, the dental pulp is present which contains all the nerves and blood vessels of the tooth. If there is a hole or cavity in your teeth, infectious bacteria may reach up to the pulp and cause infections in the nerves and blood vessels leading to symptoms like pain, swelling of the gums, sensitivity to heat or cold, mobile tooth, discoloration of the tooth, etc.
In case any of these symptoms are experienced, a root canal treatment might need to be done. The treatment is used to remove the bacteria from the pulp, infuse antibiotics in the pulp, seal the cavities to prevent further re-infection, etc. A lot of people have many misconceptions about RCT and through this article, some of the myths would be surely demolished.
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One of the most common misconceptions that people have about root canal treatment is that this procedure is painful. On the contrary, the treatment resolves the pain and the inflammation caused by the bacteria in your tooth. Initially, RCT used to cause some pain to the patients. But with the advent of newer techniques and anesthesia, the patient feels little to no pain during the procedure nowadays. The whole procedure is done under local anesthesia which numbs the neural pathways of that area making root canal treatment effectively painless
The exact procedure of RCT depends on your dentist. Some practitioners use the single-visit root canal treatment that involves cleaning, shaping, and obturating all in one visit. Whereas, in multiple visits RCT, initially a medication like calcium hydroxide is placed in the affected area in one visit, and cleaning and shaping are done in the next visit. But studies have shown that both these approaches have similar results in patients. So more and more dentists now prefer to do the single-visit RCT to make the procedure more comfortable for the patient. You should consult with your doctor regarding this and express any apprehensions and doubts that you may have so that this procedure brings more comfort to you.
Although tooth replacement has become very simple today, one needs to understand that any implanted tooth will never be as good as your own natural tooth. Also, the process of tooth extraction is much more painful than root canal treatment and it takes more time to heal. Pulling the tooth out and replacing it with another artificial tooth will take more time and more visits to the dentist. root canal treatment is much better than tooth extraction in every way possible.
Another common myth about root canal treatment is that an already dead tooth does not require the procedure. A dead tooth should be treated at the earliest because it can act as a reservoir for infectious bacteria that can spread to the remaining teeth causing infections. This can also lead to infections of the gum and bone. root canal treatment lets you keep the tooth clean out of the infection present in the pulp of the dead tooth. After removal of the infection and the pulp, the cavity will be sealed with a permanent filling.
Pain is one of the most common symptoms of an infected tooth but it is not the only one. Many other symptoms like swelling, sensitivity to heat and cold, teeth discoloration, etc are also observed with infected teeth. root canal treatment is done to resolve the infection in a tooth. If you do not have pain but have any other symptoms, this means that you may be suffering from an infected tooth. The best treatment option available for infected teeth is RCT. Even if you do not have any symptoms, but any infection is found in your tooth, your dentist might suggest you an RCT so that the infection does not spread and is cured at its earliest stage.
During root canal treatment, the infected or decayed pulp is removed from the affected tooth. This leads to the removal of the bacteria that were causing the infection. So. infections do not occur after the procedure is done. Though infections can still occur if you do not take good care of your teeth, these are unlikely if you have undergone root canal treatment.
In short, root canal treatment does not cause any brain or eye problems. RCT is just used to remove the pulp of your infected tooth to resolve your symptoms and prevent the spread of bacteria to other teeth. This procedure does not lead to any kind of brain or eye problems. In fact, root canal treatment is responsible for preventing the spread of infection to other teeth and other adjacent organs.
Take Away
These were the common myths about root canal treatment that people usually have. We hope that you now know that none of them are actually true and root canal treatment is a very safe and helpful procedure. For further information, consult a dentist who will be able to guide you further. At Smilexpertz, you will get the foremost treatment and consultation from experienced doctors References: 1^ Overview ICPA Health | February,25,2021 2^ Common Problems Found in Milk Teeth and Their Treatment WebMD | February,25,2021
