I have a tooth that my dentist said needs a root canal treatment but it doesn’t hurt. Is it completely necessary that I get it right away? If not, how long can I put it off?
Stan
Dear Stan,
Please bear in mind with everything I say that I have not examined you. The most I can do is give some general principles. If the tooth is hurting at all, even just a little bit, then you need to have the root canal treatment done. A pimple on the gums is another sign that you have an active infection and want to get seen quickly.
While it is technically considered a dental emergency, I would not say that you would need to drop what you are doing and go in, but you will want to schedule the first available appointment. It is always better to treat things early. This way they don’t have time to get worse. A root canal treatment saves your tooth. If it is left without treatment when you have an active infection, you are either likely to lose a tooth or to end up with something much more dangerous as it spreads outside of your jaw.
If the tooth is not hurting and hasn’t for a while, then you can likely get away with putting it off for a while. You should be aware that you risk external resorption. We don’t quite know what causes it yet, but what happens is that the arrested infection slowly eats away at the root of the tooth even though you don’t feel pain. The tooth will eventually become unsaveable. If that happens you will need to replace it. If that happens, I would look at getting a dental implant.
This blog is brought to you by Libertyville Dentist Dr. David Potts.
Click here to learn about sedation dental care.