Pain during root canal treatment

A root canal treatment serves to clear the inflamed root canals and to stop inflammatory processes in the area of the pulp. In this way, the spreading of pathogenic germs to the jawbone and other parts of the periodontium can be prevented. For this reason, root canal treatment generally follows a fixed procedure.

To prevent severe pain during root canal treatment, a local anaesthetic is applied before the hard tooth substance is opened. As a rule, a root canal treatment can therefore be carried out mostly without pain. The patient only notices a slight pressure in the area of the tooth during the treatment.

If there are strong inflammatory processes within the root canals, it may be that the smallest nerve fibres cannot be completely eliminated and pain may occur during the root canal treatment. In order to enable the patient to receive treatment with as little discomfort as possible in these cases, it is possible to introduce the local anaesthetic directly into the tooth pulp after opening the root canal. This causes pain in most cases, but this pain subsides after a few seconds and makes the rest of the root canal treatment painless.

The pain after a root canal treatment depends on the individual perception of pain. In general, pain after a root canal treatment is quite common.However, these usually subside again after a short time. These are normal healing pains, which can manifest themselves as throbbing or tapping as well as strong sensitivity to touch.

In order for the pain to be reduced to a minimum after the treatment, it is essential that the entire root canal has really been freed of infected tissue. As soon as there are still residues in the canals, painful inflammation can occur again and the root canal treatment was not successful. As a rule, pain after a root canal treatment can be treated by taking light painkillers (analgesics).

Ibuprofen has a particularly good effect in clinical practice in terms of pain relief after a successful root canal treatment. It is also possible that the dentist inadvertently presses the rinsing solution beyond the root tips into the surrounding tissue. In this case, too, severe inflammation can reoccur and cause pain.

The duration of a root canal treatment depends to a large extent on the initial condition, i.e. the extent of the inflammatory processes in the area of the root cavity, of the affected tooth. In addition, the individual anatomical conditions (width, depth, curvature of the root canals) and the number of tooth roots also play a decisive role in the duration of a root canal treatment. In uncomplicated cases with a low degree of inflammation and short, straight root canals, the therapy can usually be completed within one or two hours.

As a rule, however, a root canal treatment is rarely absolutely uncomplicated. Most patients do not visit the dentist until they notice pain in the area of the diseased tooth. These pains indicate that considerable inflammatory processes take place inside the tooth.

In these cases, a complete root canal treatment with good chances of success cannot be conscientiously completed within one session. In most cases, anti-inflammatory medication must be introduced into the opened tooth and the tooth must be provisionally closed. The duration of the root canal treatment thus comprises several sessions and can last for several weeks.