Post-op for Root Canals
Root Canal Therapy
After Treatment
It is not uncommon for your tooth to feel uncomfortable or have a dull ache immediately after root-canal therapy. Expect this discomfort to subside within a few days.
Your tooth may feel sensitive when biting and or even feel loose. This sensitivity comes from the nerve-endings near the root of your tooth, where we cleaned, irrigated and placed filler and sealer material. This sensitivity will be short lived.
You may feel a depression or rough area on the top of your back tooth or the back of your front tooth where the access to the nerve was made. There may be a temporary material in that area, which may wear away to some degree before your next visit for the permanent filling or crown.
Occasionally, a small “bubble” or “pimple” will appear on the gum tissue within a few days of having root canal therapy. This should disappear within a few days.
We recommend you take something for pain relief within one hour of leaving our office. We recommend Ibuprofen (Advil) or Aleve. If you cannot take these medicines, please talk to your dentist for some alternatives. Tylenol is a substitute, although it does not contain anti-inflammatory properties. Aspirin and aspirin-containing products are not advisable as they tend to increase bleeding from the area that was treated.
Whenever possible, try to chew on the opposite side from the tooth we have just treated, until you have a final restoration placed. Until this time, your tooth is weakened and could fracture (requiring its removal).
Please avoid chewing gym, caramels or other sticky soft candy. These can dislodge your temporary filling or cause tooth fracture.
Please call us if you're experiencing symptoms more intense or longer duration than those described above or if you have any questions.
If the tooth which you had the root canal on was a posterior tooth (premolar or molar) you should have a crown made for the tooth AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, or you risk fracturing the tooth and the need for it to be extracted.