Dr. Jennifer Vitarelli

Top Dentist Reveal Why You Still Feel Pain After a Root Canal

It’s common to need a root canal at some point in your life. Despite its reputation, the root canal procedure is not actually painful. However, a lot of people still wonder whether the pain after the procedure persists or not. 

The short answer is that it is quite common to feel some sort of discomfort after a root canal. But the level of the pain you feel depends on how well the procedure was performed and the cause of the discomfort. For instance, if your tooth was infected before you had a root canal, you are more likely to continue to feel pain afterward.

According to Vitarelli Dental, Saddle River, you may still feel pain and discomfort after the procedure but mostly this is a temporary thing. We will discuss the reasons why you still feel pain afterward in this post. 

Common Causes of Pain After Root Canal

  • There can be many reasons why you still feel discomfort in your teeth after a root canal. Some of the most common are listed below. 

Inflammation

  • The most common reason why you feel pain after a root canal is due to the inflammation of the tissues surrounding the root of the tooth. Inflammation can occur if the debris escapes the area of the root. 

While a professional dentist takes utmost care in providing you a root canal, this is quite common. Fortunately, the problem can be fixed by taking an over-the-counter pain medication consisting of inflammatory properties. 

Infection

  • If the tooth was severely infected before the root canal, the pain will sometimes last even after the infection has been healed. Sometimes the tooth can be infected without you feeling any pain at all.

Unfortunately, the infection is sometimes triggered by the procedure that often results in a more severe and painful acute infection. This is not the same as simple inflammation and must be taken care of with prescribed anti-biotics. So in other words, if the pain persists after the procedure, you must let your dentist know so that the infection can be beaten.

Root Canal Failure

  • In very rare instances, the procedure can be unsuccessful. This is especially apparent if you keep on feeling severe pain after a root canal and the pain does not go away even after taking antibiotic medicines. 

You’ll know that the procedure didn’t work if you feel the following symptoms.

  • The pain does not go away after the procedure
  • You suspect the pain level getting worse 
  • Fluid accumulation, drainage or swelling in the gums
  • Feeling extreme discomfort when eating or drinking hot or cold things
  • Recurring pain after feeling better for a few days

If any of these symptoms are true for you, then you will likely need to see the dentist again for a periodontal therapy where the dentist will be able to check if the root canal was successful or not. In an unfortunate event of a root canal failure, you may be advised for a tooth extraction. But keep in mind that this is only true for very rare occasions.

We highly recommend seeing a reputable dentist for sensitive oral care procedures such as a root canal so that you do not end up with trouble afterward. 

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