Is pain after root canal treatment a symptom of dental root inflammation?
Not only before or during the treatment of an inflammation of the root canal, strong pain and impairments can occur, but also after a root canal treatment complaints are possible. It should be remembered that root canal treatment is merely an attempt to preserve the tooth, but there is no guarantee that this form of treatment will work. During dental treatment, the inflamed tissue is removed from the inside of the tooth, the root canal is disinfected and treated with a medication.
The now empty root canals are sealed airtight with flexible guttapercha pins, which resemble flexible rubber pins. Between the guttapercha pins and the tooth wall, a kind of glue acts as a binding agent to ensure that bacteria have no chance of re-entering the tooth and that the root canal filling is absolutely tight. It is normal that the tooth may still have pressure problems for a few days after the root canal filling has been plugged and the therapy has been completed, but these will subside completely after about 14 days.
In addition, it can happen that the root filling material pushes beyond the tip of the root and the surrounding tissue becomes inflamed. This can lead to unpleasant pain. Due to the instrumentation with the thin files, the region around the root tip may also be mechanically irritated.
This is no cause for concern, but occurs very frequently. The tissue recovers quickly from this. Furthermore, it is possible that the tooth may become inflamed after the root canal treatment has been completed because the canal has not been 100% disinfected or it has not been sealed airtight.
The tooth is then sensitive to pressure and chewing causes pain. Symptoms such as swelling of the gums around the root of the affected tooth and severe redness are conceivable. In such cases, a visit to an oral and maxillofacial surgeon is often the last option to save the tooth. The surgeon treats the tooth with a root tip resection by cutting the gum and removing part of the root with the inflamed tissue. Therefore, if pain or increased sensitivity persists for more than 2 weeks after a root canal treatment or becomes steadily worse, a new root canal infection may be present and a visit to the dentist may be necessary.
