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Tips For Patients That May Require A Root Canal

by Andre Daniels

A root canal can be one of the dental procedures that can be the most stress-inducing for patients to undergo. While root canals may have a bad reputation, they can be a vital form of care for dental patients, and these procedures are usually not as disruptive or uncomfortable as patients might first assume.

Appreciate The Purpose Of Undergoing A Root Canal

Undergoing a root canal can be the best option for saving a tooth that has developed a deep infection. As the infection spreads through the soft tissue inside a tooth, it will eventually move into the roots of the tooth where it can spread to the jaw or neighboring teeth. During a root canal procedure, the dentist will remove all of the infected soft tissue from the tooth so that the infection will be eliminated. This procedure can allow an infected tooth to be saved without the need to extract it.

Be Mindful Of What You Eat During Your Recovery

During the period after your root canal procedure, it is vital to closely follow the recovery instructions from the doctor. In particular, it is important to avoid eating particularly hard or otherwise difficult foods in the days immediately after the root canal. Your tooth and jaw will be fairly sore, and eating hard foods can cause unnecessary pain. For the first day or two after the root canal procedure, patients may want to limit themselves to eating soups, mashed potatoes, and other soft foods. Typically, this will only be needed for the first day or two after the treatment.

Attend Any Follow-Up Visits Requested By Your Dentist

Your dentist will likely want you to attend follow-up sessions so that they can monitor the tooth that underwent the root canal procedure. In some instances, there may be complications that will need to be addressed. This can include some of the infected tissue being left behind, which can allow the patient's problems to quickly return. When patients fail to undergo these follow-up visits, any complications that they develop can become far more difficult to address as it may have time to severely worsen before it is discovered by the dentist and treated. Luckily, these follow-up visits should be extremely short as the dentist will only need to inspect the tooth that underwent the root canal and the teeth that directly neighbor it. In most instances, a patient's follow-up visit should only take a few minutes from the time that the dentist starts the examination.

For more information about dental treatments, get in touch with a dentist.

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