There are couple of words that always scare dental patients off. One of such examples is "root canal."
By Dr Muattar Hanif
When a patient has deep cavities, crooked teeth, a swelling/ abscess or any accident leading to dental trauma, the only solution left is root canal.
Though the dental treatment looks very promising, but many patients perceive it as a source of great pain. The procedure itself is already notorious for being ‘expensive’.
This article, however, will tell you why getting root canal is not an issue at all!
- The steps are pretty easy
A lot of patients will come with anxiety. This actually stems from the fact that they don’t much know what will happen to them once they sit on dental chair. But this can be resolved if the patient is guided well regarding the steps and procedure.
Once the local anesthetic is applied to the patient, a rubber dental dam is applied to keep the ‘targeted’ tooth dry and moist-free. The dental professional will then make a drill inside the cavity to reach the infected pulp. The pulp is actually the location from where the pain is starting. Thanks to the anesthetic, the patient won’t feel any discomfort during the ‘drilling’ or any future process. Once the access is made to the infected pulp, suction is used to get rid of the bacteria contained fluid and pulp.
The dentist then replace the drilled cavity with the ‘gutta-percha-GP.’ This synthetic product will help in strengthening of your tooth. Later, the dentist might replace the GP with crown or filling according to the patients need.
It is pertinent to mention here that not all root canals contain these steps. It depends on the dentists and their clinical expertise. But these steps can give a general idea to the overall treatment procedure.
- Pain…not really!
The most popular myths around root canal is that this dental procedure will hurt you. I have to promise you that the pain won’t be much deeper than any heartbreak! Jokes aside, a good dentist will always make sure that the procedure is non-invasive and doesn’t cause any discomfort for the patient. A patient does have the liberty to let their dental specialist know if the pain doesn’t resolve.
The latest advancements in anesthetics has made it possible to break any myths. The general discomfort of getting tooth treatment can be pretty much same as that of dental filling. But it won’t be more than that!
After the treatment, the dentist will prescribe the best anesthetic medicine for you. Apart from some tooth sensitivity and mild aches, the patient won’t feel any inhibition.
- The procedure is never ending
In old days, root canal used to be done through manual equipements. This means that the entire procedure of drilling was done by 'hands'. Now thanks to modern dentistry, the procedure of root canal is very much easy and fast. The time consuming things have been replaced with ultra-fast gadgets.
Still, root canals can take couple of seatings. This could be because of the patient’s history. Thus though the total time of treatment varies, but its faster than the myths surrounding it.
- Root canal is a ‘luxury’
It is generally assumed that getting a root canal will definitely leave a dent on your pocket. But this is not true. A root canal may be more expensive than a simple tooth filling, or scaling, but the procedure does require skill and expertise. The treatment cost could easily be reduced if the patient get their dental checkup twice a year.
Early diagnosis can make sure that the tooth doesn’t lead to much invasive procedures. Thus, if the dentist using his expertise can deal a patient effectively, then there’s really nothing to worry. Only educating the patient and saving the tooth early, can make this procedure an easy ride.
Dr Muattar Hanif
The author is Editor at Dental News Pakistan and can be reached at newsdesk@medicalnewsgroup.com.pk
