What Happens If You Delay a Root Canal?

A root canal is a minimally invasive dental procedure to address infected and damaged teeth. The goal of this treatment is to preserve your natural teeth for as long as possible. If you wait too long for a root canal, it may lead to long-term dental complications that affect your oral and physical health as well as your smile.

Experienced dentist Vadim Valdman, DDS, and our team at Allure Dental of Hollywood in Hollywood, Florida, perform root canals in a comfortable office environment to save teeth damaged by an injury or progressive decay. If Dr. Valdman recommends a root canal, it’s important that you don’t put off your appointment.

What to know about root canals

A root canal is a procedure that removes decay and bacteria from the interior chamber of an infected tooth in order to preserve the natural tooth and prevent its removal (extraction).

During the procedure, we thoroughly clean the outer part of your tooth then open it to remove infection and debris from the tooth’s pulpy inner canal. Dr. Valdman may also flush the inner part of your tooth with medication to prevent infection.

Following this intensive cleaning, we reseal your tooth with high-quality dental materials to stop bacteria from entering the inside of your tooth. In some cases, we may need to place a dental crown over the treated tooth to improve its stability.

Why you might need a root canal

If much of your natural tooth is still healthy and strong, Dr. Valdman may recommend a root canal to address dental issues like a deep infection or a large cavity.

You should schedule an oral health evaluation at Allure Dental of Hollywood if you have issues like:

• Persistent toothache
• A cracked tooth
• Gum swelling
• Face or neck swelling
• Discolored teeth
• Increased oral sensitivity to hot and cold

Using advanced dental X-rays and other diagnostic technologies, we can determine if a root canal is the best treatment option for your condition. Root canals can save your natural tooth so you won’t have to have it pulled and replaced with a dental implant or a bridge.

This treatment also helps ensure that decayed or damaged teeth are well protected from infections and progressive decay down the road.

With root canals, time is of the essence

Many people delay their root canal appointments because they worry about discomfort or anxiety during the procedure. We recommend that you schedule a needed root canal right away — not only do we use highly effective dental anesthetics when performing a root canal, but we also offer sedation services to ease extreme dental anxiety.

Delaying the procedure puts you at risk for tooth damage that a root canal might not be able to fix. The longer you put off having a root canal, the more your natural tooth can break down, and the more likely it is that the infection will spread to your jawbone and beyond.

Untreated dental infections can become life-threatening if the infection travels into your bloodstream. By taking care of your underlying dental issues with a timely root canal, you can not only preserve your long-term oral health, but you can also keep your beautiful, bright smile intact.

If you have a persistent toothache or other dental issue, call Allure Dental of Hollywood today to schedule a consultation. You can also use our easy online booking feature to make an appointment any time.