How painful is the treatment?
The root filling as the last step of the root canal treatment does not have to be associated with pain. If any nerve tissue has been removed from the canal system beforehand and a drug insert has calmed the tooth there, the root canal filling can be performed without local anesthesia, as there is hardly any pain. In cases with severe inflammation, such as gangrene or abscess, it can take a long time for the inflammatory germs to disappear, so the root canal filling may be painful and require anesthesia. Since the acidic pH value makes it much harder to anaesthetize inflamed tissue, the treatment can still be painful despite the anaesthetic. In these cases it is advisable to take a painkiller in advance to reduce the pain.
Duration of the treatment
The duration of the entire treatment may vary depending on the individual case. The previous cause of the root canal treatment and the subsequent root filling is also decisive. In the case of severe inflammation of still living teeth, a pulpotomy, it can take one to two weeks until the symptoms disappear and the inflammation subsides.
If necessary, a medicinal insert is inserted into the canal in an intermediate appointment until the tooth is free of symptoms and only then is the root canal filling carried out. Completely symptom-free teeth, which have been diagnosed by chance on an X-ray and must then receive a root filling, can also be treated with a root filling immediately after the canals have been widened and disinfected. Also teeth that are inflamed due to trauma are usually treated in this way.
It is a guideline that the process from the beginning of the therapy to the completed root canal filling requires one to three sessions at approximately weekly intervals. Nevertheless, it is possible that a tooth needs more time until the symptoms are minimized. However, the patient should not lose patience, because the root filling has a positive prognosis due to modern therapy methods. Even if the tooth causes unpleasant symptoms for some time, the effort and patience can be worthwhile.
