Does root canal treatment hurt?
The treatment removes the nerve that is causing your pain. With proper numbing, most patients feel nothing during it.
This is the question we are asked more than any other, and the honest answer is no — but it is worth explaining why the reputation exists.
Where the pain actually comes from
Inside each tooth is a nerve. When decay reaches it, the nerve becomes infected and inflamed, and that is what produces the deep throbbing ache that keeps you awake and does not respond to painkillers.
A root canal removes exactly that nerve. The treatment is what takes the pain away. People remember arriving in agony and having a root canal, and the two get connected in the memory.
What the appointment is like
The tooth is numbed first and we wait until the numbness has properly set in — not thirty seconds, but as long as it takes. We check with you before starting.
You will feel pressure and vibration. You should not feel pain. If you do, you raise your hand and we stop and give more anaesthetic.
Most cases are finished in a single sitting of about an hour. Most patients go back to work the same afternoon.
Afterwards
The tooth can feel tender to bite on for a few days, which normal painkillers handle. The tooth is more brittle once the nerve is gone, so a cap is usually fitted over it afterwards to stop it cracking.
If you are nervous\n\nTell us. It changes how we run the appointment — slower, with more explanation and more breaks. There is nothing unusual about being frightened of this, and it is much better than leaving an infected tooth alone.
This is general information, not a diagnosis. Every mouth is different. Book a check-up so the dentist can look at yours before you decide anything.
