“Are root canals more painful than fillings?”
I will have a root canal. Are root canals more painful than fillings?
4 Answers
The short answer is no. The real question is: Why does pain often occur for some people and not others following fillings and root canals as well as all dental procedures?
The long answer is quite simple-some teeth are sicker and more broken down than others. If a cavity is small most often the patient will have little to no discomfort beyond 24-48 hours and that can be minimized by using a combination of Advil and Tylenol taken at the same time. Taking them at the "same time" is the secret! To quote my old pharmocology professor -"taking them at the same time is when the magic happens"! This combination of drugs is more effective than Codeine. Even severe pain responds to this powerful and effective therapy.
The patients that have the most severe pain are the patients that have infected nerves or "pulps" inside their teeth at various stages of degeneration. Some of them have abcesses or they are undergoing the process of developing an abcess. Most of the time antibiotic treatment as well as actual treatment of the situation will eliminate the pain that occurs along with the pain med "combo".
Most of our new patients come in and are expecting me to hurt them only to be amazed at how painless modern dentistry dilivered in a gentle manner can actually be even when they presented with pain.
The long answer is quite simple-some teeth are sicker and more broken down than others. If a cavity is small most often the patient will have little to no discomfort beyond 24-48 hours and that can be minimized by using a combination of Advil and Tylenol taken at the same time. Taking them at the "same time" is the secret! To quote my old pharmocology professor -"taking them at the same time is when the magic happens"! This combination of drugs is more effective than Codeine. Even severe pain responds to this powerful and effective therapy.
The patients that have the most severe pain are the patients that have infected nerves or "pulps" inside their teeth at various stages of degeneration. Some of them have abcesses or they are undergoing the process of developing an abcess. Most of the time antibiotic treatment as well as actual treatment of the situation will eliminate the pain that occurs along with the pain med "combo".
Most of our new patients come in and are expecting me to hurt them only to be amazed at how painless modern dentistry dilivered in a gentle manner can actually be even when they presented with pain.
It depends. Normally you should be numb and then you shouldn’t feel any difference between a root canal or a filling. However, if you need a root canal, it means that the tooth is usually infected. Infection is very acidic and can keep anesthetic from getting your tissue numb. Your dentist or Endodontist should have techniques to numb you more substantially or place you on antibiotics to aid in this.
If you are properly anesthetized, a root canal should be painless.
Good morning. The pain you feel during a filling and the pain you feel during a root canal should be exactly the same, Nothing! The difference being typically teeth that need a root canal are more painful to start with. Teeth getting a root canal are profoundly anesthetized during treatment and patients won’t feel pain during the procedure. When that ‘Novocaine’ wears off, patients will be left with inflammation (irritation) they had prior to the root canal that needs time to heal and resolve. It’s probably this fact that the greater initial pain for teeth that require a root canal, that makes people think that root canals are more painful. Root canal treated teeth may require more healing time compared with a regular filling despite both procedures being painless during the treatment window. I hope this helps!
