Seeing the dentist is not always everyone’s favorite thing. We often fear the dentist because as kids we heard horror stories or we remember the sound of the tooth drills! For some this fear is still very prominent in their adulthood. We fear the dentist due to the associations we made in our heads and rarely due to past experiences we have had.
We can all admit tooth pain is the worst! Although what we as patients sometimes fail to the associate is once we visit the dentist that pain goes away right away if not in a week’s worth of time. The best way I have found to took at it is a dentist is a tooth doctor and an endodontist is a surgeon. Sometimes something is too deep for a dentist/doctor to work on without causing more pain so they recommend you to a specialist who performs these surgeries every day, endodontist/surgeon. They give you to the best possible hands that they trust! This means that you are now having a treatment performed by someone who not only studies these kinds of things but who is passionate about it.
Root canals are known for being a “scary” procedure but why?
Today we are going to go through the most common root canal myths in order to better educate patients on why it is nothing to be scared of!
Myth 1: “Root canal?! No, I don’t want that treatment is going to be painful!”
Today’s Endodontist has come a long way! With modern and advanced technology and anesthetics, the pain is practically nonexistent. They aim to make your experience as painless as possible which is why modern remedies can be as painless as getting a cavity filled. The pain you feel from a toothache is often caused by tissue damage in your tooth. An endodontist can remove that tissue through a root canal treatment. As stated earlier, an endodontist is a specialist in their field, much like a surgeon, which is why they want to help you save your natural tooth! They are essentially experts in managing your pain during this procedure.
Myth 2: “Root canal? No way! I heard after treatment I can get sick.”
This information is false. A lot of the time people assume infection means a disease which is not true and has no scientific evidence to support the link between root canal treatment to any illness in the body afterward. Remember, yes being informed about a procedure you are having done is important! However, the sources and websites you find on the internet are not always true if they do not come from a trusted source! A lot of what you find is myths or people speaking from a standpoint that happened a long time ago which was before modern medicine.
Myth 3: “Root canal? No that’s painful, just pull my tooth instead!”
Why replace something is it’s not broken? Think of this situation is like a car part. If only one part of your car is damaged and in need of a minor repair, would you throw out the entire car? No! This is why saving your natural teeth is always a better option if possible! Replacement teeth/artificial teeth are not the same as your natural teeth, the look, feel and function is different. Endodontists specialize in these treatments and have a high success rate, giving your tooth a long life. What most fail to realize is, that by replacing a tooth it can actually take more time and cause more damage to the other natural teeth surrounding it.
There is nothing to be afraid of! If you do your proper research from trusted resources you will be able to see that it is just a simple procedure being performed by a professional. If research does not answer all your questions call your endodontist and speak with them! They want you to feel as comfortable as possible about this treatment which is why they will not shy away from questions. Just like any other surgery or treatment, wither it be doctor related or dental! Professionals in their fields know their work inside and out, they perform these procedures every day and only have your best interest at heart.