Pain in root canal tooth months later

Why Would My Tooth Hurt After Root Canal Therapy? Is This Normal?

If you have recently had your root canal at Smillie Dental, a little bit of pain and discomfort is normal as you heal. Usually, this will be quite minor. Your tooth may feel sore and tender, and you should be able to mitigate the pain with over-the-counter medication like acetaminophen or naproxen. 

There are a couple of reasons this may happen. First, though the nerve-filled “pulp” is removed from your tooth, there are still other nerves and sensitive tissues near the canal of your tooth, and these can be irritated and become swollen or inflamed after your endodontic treatment, causing some minor discomfort.

In addition, because sharp dental instruments are used to clean out the tooth, it’s possible for a little bit of minor trauma to occur to the surrounding gum tissue while the root canals are cleaned out by Dr. Joseph Smillie.

Overall, though, you don’t need to worry. If you feel some minor pain and sensitivity for a few days, this is normal, and will fade over time as your mouth recovers from your root canal treatment.

Severe, Long-Lasting Pain Is Not Normal After A Root Canal – Call For A Follow-Up

So, when should you start to worry if you’re experiencing pain and discomfort after a root canal? If you feel severe, sharp pain, your toothache persists, or your pain continues to last for more than 1 week after your root canal has been performed at Smillie Dental, you should get a follow-up with Dr. Joseph Smillie.

If you continue to experience severe pain, it’s likely that the original infection was not completely removed during the initial root canal treatment. This usually happens if a tooth was cracked or damaged and this was not noticed during the treatment, or if it has a hidden root canal that was not cleaned out during the initial treatment.

If your tooth really hurts, make sure to schedule a follow-up right away. Dr. Smillie will likely recommend root canal retreatment to open the tooth back up and clean it out even more thoroughly. In the vast majority of cases, this will resolve your pain and keep your tooth healthy.

Don’t Ignore Your Pain – Get Help If You Need It!

Pain is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. So whether you’ve gotten a root canal at Smillie Dental or at another dental office in Port Orange, it’s important to get follow-up care as soon as you can if you are feeling a lot of pain in your tooth.

Even when every step of the procedure goes smoothly, a tooth that is treated with a root canal may experience prolonged sensitivity or reinfection. According to the American Association of Endodontists (AAE), certain circumstances may prevent a tooth treated with a root canal from healing properly:

• If the dental professional misses tiny, hidden canals or curved canals during the first treatment, the bacteria inside them may not be entirely removed and can cause infection.
• Immediately after the root canal, the dental professional often places a temporary filling to provide a short-term seal for the root canal before placing the permanent restoration (such as a crown or filling). If there is a delay in placing the permanent restoration, there is a greater chance that the root canal can get reinfected.
• If bacteria in the saliva get under the filling material before the filling is placed, the canal can become reinfected.
• If the patient doesn't maintain proper oral hygiene, new cavities can form on the same tooth that already received a root canal.
• A filling or crown placed on the tooth that received the root canal can crack, loosen or break, allowing a new infection to start.

A root canal is a common procedure that dentists perform to treat certain types of tooth pain. During the procedure, the dentist will carefully remove dead, infected, and damaged pulp from the inside of the affected tooth (developed teeth can survive without the pulp), thereby eliminating the source of the pain.

Although this procedure is highly effective for treating pain, sometimes patients still experience tooth pain after root canal, and today we’ll tell you five of the most common reasons why.

1. Tooth Pain After Root Canal: Post-Procedure Inflammation

One of the most common causes of post-root canal tooth pain is inflammation, which can be caused by the procedure itself or because the infection caused the tooth ligament to become swollen. In these cases, the swelling will subside in the days and weeks following the root canal, and the pain will resolve on its own.

1. Tooth Pain After Root Canal: Infection

A root canal is often performed to remove infected pulp from inside the tooth, so it’s possible that there’s still some bacteria present after the procedure, and this can lead to infected tissue and more pain. Like with swelling, the problem should resolve itself once your immune system attacks and kills the bacteria, but if the problem persists, your doctor or dentist may recommend antibiotics.

1. Tooth Pain After Root Canal: Fillings That Are Too Large

After your dentist removes the pulp from inside your tooth, the empty space is filled with a rubber-like material. If too much filling material is used, however, it will cause the tooth to sit higher, and this will cause pain any time you bite down. Although this problem won’t resolve on its own, your dentist can fix the issue easily by adjusting the filling.

1. Tooth Pain After Root Canal: An Incomplete Root Canal

Some teeth, especially the molars, can have multiple canals, and it’s possible for a dentist to miss one or more of these during the procedure. In these instances, the initial cause of the pain never gets fixed, so you’ll still experience pain even after the root canal. Similarly, if the dentist happens to miss any of the damaged nerves inside the tooth that need to be removed, you may still experience pain when that tooth comes in contact with heat, cold, or something acidic.

1. Tooth Pain After Root Canal: Damage to the Surrounding Tissue

During the root canal, tissue damage can occur if bacteria is accidentally injected into the surrounding tissue, if too much filling material is used and flows past the root tip, or if a file used to clean the inside of the tooth slips beyond the root tip and pokes into the tissue below. In these cases, the pain will disappear when the damaged tissue heals.

Root canals are an effective method for addressing problems caused by damaged or infected pulp, and this procedure is usually effective at eliminating tooth pain. However, if your tooth pain persists after the root canal, these are common issues that might explain the problem. In most cases, the tooth pain will resolve on its own, but if the pain is excessive or continues for more than five days, consult a dental professional as soon as possible.

Related Article: Brooks City Base Dentist: GPS Spotlight on Dr. Gary Skrobanek

Dr. Gary P. Skrobanek’s experienced and friendly team at GPS Dental offers family dentistry for all ages in San Antonio, TX area. Our Brooks City Base dentist office is conveniently located and offers early morning appointment times Monday through Friday to meet your needs. At GPS Dental, we promote dental health awareness to our patients and provide most dental services, from family and general dentistry to dental implants, sleep apnea, TMJ / TMD Treatment, cosmetic dentistry and much more. We accept most dental insurance plans and offer affordable financial solutions for any budget. Call us at (210) 633-3477 to make an appointment.

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