FIGHTING 3 COMMON ROOT CANAL MYTHS
If you are like most people, the very idea of a root canal can seem overwhelming. Your dentist in Naples generally performs a root canal in order to save a tooth that has become severely decayed. During root canal procedures, dentists remove and clean the tooth’s decayed inner pulp, preventing the infection from spreading further. Despite the fact that a root canal is an extremely safe and common procedure, many people still falsely believe that a root canal is painful, causes illness, or should be rejected in favor of tooth extraction. Read on to dispel these three myths.
Root canals are painful.
While many people believe that a root canal is painful, the opposite is actually true. Dentists perform root canals to relieve tooth and gum pain caused by an infected tooth. While a tooth that requires a root canal may be painful, the root canal treatment itself is no more uncomfortable than when a dentist fills a cavity. Thanks to new developments in modern family dentistry, this procedure is both more efficient and more effective than ever before.
A root canal causes illness.
Some people also believe the myth that root canals can lead to illness. Some websites continue to claim that endodontics increase a patient’s likelihood of suffering from unnamed diseases. This mysterious claim is actually based upon research performed almost 100 years ago. Dentists have since fully debunked these claims. In fact, if you do not have a root canal performed, you risk allowing bacteria from the infected tooth to spread throughout your body.
Tooth extraction is a good alternative to a root canal.
If the infection is caught early, a root canal can help preserve your natural tooth. As your dentist will tell you, keeping your natural teeth is always the best option. Dentists only resort to tooth extraction in cases of the most severe infection. That is because tooth loss can cause your healthy jawbone tissue to deteriorate, which causes a range of significant oral health problems. A root canal is also usually less expensive than tooth extraction.
