root canal myths

Misconceptions About Root Canals in Fairhope

When many of us hear “root canal” we think, “OUCH” that sounds painful! And if we aren’t the one needing the root canal we are relieved. The truth is a root canal is meant to get the patient out of pain, not put them in more pain. Our Fairhope, AL dental office performs root canals on patients all the time with tremendous patient satisfaction. According to the American Academy of Endodontists, the three common myths surrounding root canals are:

  1. Root Canal Therapy is Very Painful

    This is not grounded in a complete falsehood because decades ago, this may have been true. Prior to anesthetics and modern dental technology having to perform a root canal on an already painful tooth would likely cause quite a bit of discomfort during the procedure. Now when a patient has a severe toothache or a cracked and damaged tooth that needs a root canal, your dentist can numb the area and perform your treatment comfortably. You can view our root canal procedure here. After the procedure, you will be well on your way to a pain free mouth again.

  2. Better to Extract a Tooth than Have a Root Canal Performed

    When your natural tooth is worth saving, you should certainly save the tooth. While there are great replacement tooth options, nothing will replace your natural tooth. (A dental implant is certainly the gold standard in tooth replacement if this is needed.) With a root canal, treatment to neighboring teeth and surrounding tissues is typically not needed. Root canaled teeth can last a lifetime and they have a high success rate.

  3. Root Canal Treatment Makes you More Susceptible to Disease

    Nearly a century ago, before modern medicine understood what it does now, a poorly designed research made the claim that you’re more likely to become ill in the future after root canal treatment. There is no valid evidence which links a patient being more susceptible to disease after root canal treatment.

Schedule your Fairhope Root Canal Treatment

If you are having tooth pain or believe you may be a candidate for a root canal, give our office a call. We will take a look and set out the best course of treatment to get you out of pain and back to smiling again.