A dental school, a public clinic, a government-subsidized health care plan, or a financing option can all be considered to help you pay for the procedure. If the above options are not ideal for you, then booking your root canal procedure with Flossy may be the best choice.
If you wait to have a root canal, you're only providing that infection more time to gain strength and spread. Infection can spread from the tooth into the bloodstream, and then you have a much more serious issue than a common and routine dental practice.
The Consequences of Avoiding a Root Canal
If the infection is concerning and left untreated it can cause you to lose your tooth or part of your jaw or even lead to dental abscesses or a life-threatening stroke, sepsis, or heart attack. As the infection progresses so will the pain which will be excruciating.
If you can't afford a crown for your root filled posterior (back) tooth or the dentist wishes to monitor the root canal situation prior to crown construction, then the dentist can reduce the height of the cusps of the tooth by a few mm and place a composite or amalgam filling across the whole of the biting surface.
If a root canal is delayed for too long, the bacterial infection can spread to other areas of the mouth, putting the patient at risk for serious dental problems and other medical conditions. The infection can cause something called a dental abscess, which is a pus filled sac that requires immediate medical attention.
You must undergo a root canal within a few weeks to fully eliminate the infection and save your tooth. In general, a root canal typically takes about two hours to complete, but it can require subsequent visits depending on the severity of the damage.
Dental treatment alternatives to a root canal include direct pulp capping, pulpotomy, pulpectomy, endodontic retreatment, endodontic surgery, tooth extraction, dental implants, bridges, or dentures.
A tooth can survive for several weeks without a crown. However, this is not advisable as your teeth remain exposed. This could make your teeth sensitive to hot or cold temperatures and cause further damage. If you would not like to use a crown on your tooth, you could use dental veneers as an alternative for crowns.
If you've had a root canal treatment near you, the crown will protect your tooth and seal it. This means that after having a root canal treatment, it's important for you to wait for at least four weeks before getting a crown.
While dental crowns are commonly used, there are certain scenarios in which you do not necessarily need a dental crown after a root canal. The front teeth do not withstand as much pressure as the back teeth do, so in many cases a simple tooth-colored filling will suffice to protect and restore the tooth.
Root Canals Aren't Possible with Severe Infection
If the deepest layers of the pulp become infected, it may be too late to save the tooth. In addition, if a large portion of the tooth is lost and a crown cannot be placed on what's left, root canal treatment is no longer a viable solution.
If you delay root canal treatment, the oral infection continues to get worse, and it can even lead to a very serious condition called septicemia — when the localized infection from your tooth spreads through your body. This can quickly become a dangerous health situation that you want to avoid at all costs.
Thinking about delaying your root canal therapy treatment? Not a good idea. Waiting to have one of your damaged teeth treated can result in ultimately losing the tooth. Root canals are performed as a last resort treatment option, a necessary procedure to ensure that your tooth is saved vs.
A dead tooth can stay in your mouth for up to several days or months; however, keeping a dead tooth may lead to problems with your jaw and also result in the spreading of decay and bacteria to other teeth. Most dentists will recommend having the dead tooth extracted and replaced with a denture, bridge, or implant.
The average root canal treatment is 30 to 60 minutes long. More complex cases may take around 90 minutes. A root canal typically requires one or two appointments to complete.
In most cases, root canal therapy is a better way to treat an infected tooth than an extraction. However, there are exceptions, such as if the tooth has suffered extreme damage. Your dentist will carefully analyze your oral health before making a treatment recommendation.
You can eat 30 to 45 minutes after a root canal, which is enough time to allow your temporary filling to fully harden, but it's generally recommended that patients wait to eat until after the anesthetic has worn off to prevent you from biting your cheek or tongue.
A root canal is the only way to save a dead tooth and involves removing the pulp and cleaning the site to prevent infections. Once the pulp has been removed and the area thoroughly cleansed, a filling will be placed in the opening and the roots will be sealed.
This dead tissue becomes a breeding ground for bacteria inside the tooth. Growing bacteria inside the tooth can spread into the jawbone and cause an abscess tooth. An abscess tooth can be a true emergency requiring immediate treatment to relieve substantial pain or swelling.
Root canal therapy
If a tooth's pulp (nerve) is diseased, traumatized, or dead, it must be removed to save the tooth, and then replaced with a root canal filling.
When you have tooth pain such as a tooth infection, antibiotics can go a long way in helping to address the infection, but unfortunately, antibiotics cannot completely heal an infected tooth. What's more, if you're dealing with an infected root canal, antibiotics really are not going to cut it.
Although antibiotics will not be effective in lieu of a root canal, your provider may prescribe a preventive course of these medications following your root canal treatment. This is to reduce your risk of developing infection in the bone surrounding the tooth, which prophylactic antibiotics are very effective at doing.
In case you are wondering whether or not a tooth that needs a root canal can heal itself, the straightforward answer is no. The infected tissue inside the tooth cannot heal independently and will only get worse with time.
Delaying a root canal procedure can cause even more discomfort down the line as the infection is likely to spread. Leaving an infected root canal system untreated can result in an abscessed tooth, the pain of which can be incapacitating—and complications that can be serious, even life-threatening.
Molars will usually take the longest because they can have up to four roots, requiring treatment for up to four canals. If you require a dental crown, more time will be necessary to place the crown.