If you’ve heard anything about root canals, it’s most likely that it’s a lengthy, difficult, or painful procedure.
Your dentist would like you to forget everything you think you know about root canals in Yamhill County because there’s a good chance it’s wrong. Modern dentistry has streamlined root canal treatment, but jokes and stories persist.
Let’s set the records straight once and for all: Root canals don’t cause pain; they relieve it.
Root Canals: Fact vs. Fiction
When the inside of a tooth becomes infected—due to decay or injury to the tooth—it is typically excruciating. Your dentist needs to perform a root canal to relieve your pain, but more importantly, the treatment preserves a tooth that they would otherwise need to remove.
Now that you know why your dentist recommends root canal treatment, let’s look at a few of the myths about root canal treatment and why they’re just plain wrong.
Fiction: Root Canals Hurt
Fact: Root Canals Relieve Pain
What most root canal infections have in common is that they hurt—a lot. Unfortunately, it’s the painful infection that most people remember, and then they associate it with the procedure itself.
The fact is that removing the infection from your tooth eliminates your pain. Period.
Fiction: Root Canals Are Difficult Procedures
Fact: Modern Root Canals Are Comfortable
Dentists want you to be comfortable. Sedation dentistry, advanced local anesthetics, and specialized technology work together to streamline your root canal and make you as comfortable as possible.
Fiction: Pulling a Tooth Is an Alternative to a Root Canal
Fact: Saving Teeth from Extraction Is a Priority
Extracting a tooth is never a dentist’s first option, and the goal of root canal treatment is to prevent this from happening. You may be anxious enough to want to forgo a root canal, but remember that the procedure lasts for a short time; tooth loss is forever and can lead to crooked teeth, bite problems, and even additional tooth loss.
Put Your Comfort in Our Hands
At Carlton Dental, we perform root canals in Yamhill County all the time, and our dental team will make sure that your entire experience with us is gentle and stress-free.
Call to schedule a dental appointment with Dr. Leif Gambee and his team to get started.