Is your tooth okay? Do you need a root canal?

Michelle woke up with a sharp throbbing pain coming from an upper left tooth. Her first thought was ‘oh no, am I going to lose my tooth’. She rushed to the bathroom mirror and saw that the left side of her face was puffy and swollen. Her thoughts were frantic and the pain she was experiencing was not helping either. Michelle is typical of a patient needing an endodontic procedure. Here is what I would tell Michelle if I was there. Michelle don’t worry. This can be handled very painlessly. You just need to make an appointment with your dentist to figure out what is happening with that tooth.

The thought of waking up with a sharp tooth pain can be scary. The best thing you can do in this situation would be to find out more information about the pain and seek a dental professional’s opinion. It could be something like a smallcavity or something that needs immediate attention. When pondering the idea of needing a root canal ask yourself if this checklist fits your criteria?

• Sharp, throbbing or lingering pain spontaneously or when you are eating and/or applying pressure
• Lingering sensitivity to hot/cold stimuli
• Darkening of the affected tooth
• Pimple like bump on gums near affected tooth
• Swelling/tenderness near the gums

If you happen to fall into the criteria of this checklist there is a chance that you may need a root canal procedure. But don’t panic! The need for a root canal treatment (RCT) is more common than you may think. More than millions of teeth are treated and saved every year through root canal treatments.If you are experiencing dental pain or discomfort you should speak with a dentist or endodontist as soon as possible to discuss your options.

A root canal is necessary when the inner most layer of the tooth (the pulp) becomes infected or irritated and causes the nerves inside the tooth to die or get inflamed, which would be the main source of your tooth pain. With a simple root canal procedure, we can help save your natural tooth and get you out of pain as fast as possible. A root canal treatment is not something that should be avoided, the longer the tooth is suffering the worse the pain and infection may be.
Common causes that lead to an RCT are deep decay within the tooth, infection within the tooth, or trauma to a tooth causing cracks, chips, or tooth fracture.

If you think that you may need root canal therapy, then contact your dentist for a referral or come in for a consultation. The procedure can be taken care of within normally one (sometimes two) appointments depending on the condition of the tooth.At Specialist Care Endodontics we can have you in for an examination and same-day treatment to get your teeth back to health (and pain-free) in no time. We offer emergency same-day appointments and flexible scheduling that works for you to be seen as quickly as possible.

If you have any additional questions, concerns or to book an appointment contact the office of Dr. Misra – Sauparn at Specialist Care Endodontics (703) 650-9990.

About us: Specialist Care Endodontics is an endodontic practice that is a top pick for general dentists to refer patients in need of root canals, endodontic retreatment, trauma, fractured teeth and apicoectomies. We are an endodontic specialist office serving the northern Virginia area in Woodbridge and Vienna (Close to Tysons Corner). We accept most PPO, HMO and reduced fee dental insurances and do a courtesy verification of your benefits before your appointment. We are open Monday – Friday from 8am to 6pm and have Saturday appointments available by request, booking is available online and over the phone. We look forward to hearing from you!