The news you need a root canal might cause your stomach to tighten up, but that response could be based on misinformation or outdated stories. You might only have heard misconceptions that endodontic procedures cause pain, will make you sick, and is something you should avoid.
We want you know that the opposite is true. Delaying treatment can be dangerous, because tooth infections can become deadly. Avoiding a root canal increases pain and suffering, and the longer you prolong your suffering, the less likely a dentist or endodontist will be able to save your tooth. Generally speaking, root canals today cause minimal disruption to your schedule and only minor discomfort. Let’s debunk a few other myths about root canals: 
- Root canal treatment is painful.
Dental work is one of the oldest medical procedures known to humanity. Until just a few decades ago, dental treatments were painful, and that imagery persists into popular culture today. In reality, modern technology and anesthetics have reduced discomfort during dental procedures and root canals, making many of them painless. The pain from a toothache, however, is excruciating. Visit your endodontist at Advanced Endodontics of Aiken, and let’s talk about how to alleviate your fears about pain and take care of your toothache. A root canal removes the bacteria-infected and inflamed nerve tissues inside your tooth, leaving the tooth in place and allowing for a more rapid return to function.
- Root canals can cause illness.
You may have heard stories about people getting sick easier or contracting a disease after being exposed to the bacteria in a root canal. Those stories are based on bad research conducted many years ago; which is called the focal infection theory. Through higher levels of evidence and modern research, we have since learned otherwise. There is no credible, peer-reviewed evidence to support that root canal treatment causes illness. Unfortunately, in the past, some dentists from the 1920s promoted extracting the whole tooth over root canal treatment, but by the 1950s, endodontic treatment had evolved enough to more effectively save the natural tooth.
- It’s better to pull a tooth than have a root canal.
If possible, saving your natural teeth is always the best option. Nothing artificial can replace the look or function of a natural tooth. Endodontic treatment has a high success rate, and many root canal-treated teeth last a lifetime. In the early days of root canals, endodontists sometimes had to do multiple procedures after a root canal to save a tooth. As technology and treatments have advanced, endodontists are able to predictably save more teeth than ever before.
At Advanced Endodontics of Aiken, it is always our goal to save your natural teeth; however, if we cannot save it, we will send you next door to Dr. Jennibeth Robles-Velez at Advanced Oral & Facial Specialists to replace it. Contact Advanced Endodontics today for more information on saving your teeth in a relaxing, comfortable setting.
