Do I Still Need a Root Canal If the Tooth Feels Fine?
Posted by writeradmin
I had a massive tooth ache and went to see the dentist. He said it was infected and I needed to have a root canal treatment. He gave me a week’s worth of antibiotics. That was five weeks ago. The tooth is feeling okay now. I’m scheduled to have the root canal done in another six weeks. If it’s feeling fine, do I still need to have the work done?
Oliver
Dear Oliver,
I am flabbergasted by the treatment your dentist gave you. When you have a tooth infection, antibiotics won’t solve it. That means you will still have to treat this tooth. The antibiotics were a good idea to get you through until the treatment. The problem I have is that he didn’t give you enough to get you through until the treatment. He only gave you a week’s worth when you were not going to have treatment for eleven weeks. That is unacceptable.
Though it feels fine now, your infection is going to return. It will probably return worse than before. When your dentist gave you 7 days of antibiotics, he should have scheduled your root canal treatment for about day four or five. That way there is enough antibiotics to get your through the treatment. If he could not do the root canal in that time, then he should have referred you to someone who could. It was selfish of him to try to leave you hanging so he could do the treatment himself.
If your tooth starts hurting again before your appointment, even a little bit, call and get the antibiotic refilled. It’s important that your antibiotic is under control before the procedure. Another option is not to wait. There are dentists who will treat people the same day. They leave room in their appointment for dental emergencies. Let them know what you told me.
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