Root canals may have been painful a long, long time ago, but advancements in medical technology have made them essentially painless in the modern day. Even the healing process is pain-free, thanks to a number of modern factors. Here are all the ways pain is prevented, treated or managed during and after a root canal.

1. Why Don't Modern Root
Canals Hurt?
A H A P P Y T R U T H
H O W R O O T C A N A L S B E C A M E A
P A I N L E S S M O D E R N P R O C E D U R E

2. The Modern Root Canal
Doesn't Hurt.
R O O T C A N A L S C A N G E T A B A D R A P . T H E G O O D
N E W S ? T H E Y D O N O T D E S E R V E I T .
The fact is, root canals may have
been painful a long, long time
ago but advancements in medical
technology have made them
essentially painless in the
modern day.
Even the healing process is pain-
free, thanks to a number of
modern factors. Here are all the
ways pain is treated or managed
during and after a root canal:

3. This is usually lidocaine or procaine,
which act almost instantaneously to
numb the area yet leave the body
relatively quickly, after just a few
hours.
Nowadays, root canal patients don’t
have to worry about the effects of
their anesthesia wearing off in the
middle of their treatment but in the
past, that may not have always been
the case. This alone is likely to have
contributed to the idea that root
canals are painful.
B E F O R E T H E P R O C E D U R E ,
E N D O D O N T I S T S A P P L Y
L O C A L A N E S T H E S I A T O
T H E T R E A T M E N T A R E A
D E N T A L
A N E S T H E T I C

4. ANTI-
INFLAMMATORY
MEDICATION
This keeps the swelling down and
therefore reduces any pain or
discomfort that would otherwise be
caused by swelling.
Though there have long been remedies
for pain and swelling, NSAIDs
(nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory
drugs) like aspirin and ibuprofen are
relatively new. Thanks to these pain
relievers, root canal patients can
safely keep their post-treatment pain
at bay without disconcerting, adverse
side effects.
P A T I E N T S T Y P I C A L L Y
T A K E S O M E K I N D O F
A N T I - I N F L A M M A T O R Y
M E D I C A T I O N .

5. In the past, the medical world was ill-
equipped to treat infections.
Uncontrolled infections could spread
to other parts of the body and doctors
could do little more than watch and
pray.
Nowadays, thanks to antibiotics, it’s
much less likely to get an infection
during or after a root canal, even
though root canals are often
recommended because there is already
an infection in the tooth. The healing
process usually goes smoothly, with
the patient back to normal life after
just a few weeks, but in the event that
the root canal does become infected, it
can be treated and resolved with
antibiotics in just a few days.
B E F O R E A N T I B I O T I C S ,
T H E O D D S O F G E T T I N G
I N F E C T I O N S A F T E R
S U R G E R I E S W E R E V E R Y
H I G H .
A N T I B I O T I C S

6. ORAL HYGIENE
Additionally, better cleaning after a
root canal means a lower chance of
infection and a higher likelihood that
the healing process will go smoothly.
Even though a modern root canal
doesn’t hurt, it’s best to brush and
floss every day to help avoid them
entirely. Contact Dr. Jesse Harris and
his team at East Coast Endodontics to
learn more.
T H A N K S T O
I M P R O V E M E N T S I N O R A L
H Y G I E N E , T H E R E A R E
F E W E R I N F E C T I O N S A N D
A B C E S S E S T O R E Q U I R E
R O O T .