Following your root canal procedure, you should expect all temperature sensitivity for that tooth to disappear. For 95% of all root canal treated teeth, all symptoms should begin to disappear and subside within three days. 5% of root canal treated teeth will show postoperative sensitivity resulting in pain on biting, as well as, possible swelling. This may occur even in the event that the root canal procedure was entirely successful.
We recommend you take a basic anti-inflammatory agent such as Advil/Ibuprofen; 400mg every six hours for three days, in order to greatly reduce any postoperative discomfort.
***Only take medication if you have no allergies or contraindications to the medication. If you are unsure, do not take the medication, and call our office. ***
In the event that you are experiencing rapidly progressing pain and swelling after a root canal procedure, we recommend that you call our office as soon as possible. It is very likely that antibiotic therapy will be required at this point. Please have the phone number of your local pharmacy; the dentist will need to phone in your prescription. In the event that your call is after hours and your dentist is away from the office, please remind the dentist if you have any antibiotic allergies. Usually, the pharmacist will have this information on hand anyways.
It is important to note that root canal treatment has a 98% success rate on the first treatment. Approximately 0.5% of root canal treated teeth will require extraction at some point. This is an inescapable statistic as with all other medical treatments.
To increase the prognosis of your tooth, once root canal treatment is completed, further restorative treatment will be required. This may include a post/core buildup and crown; without the tooth may be susceptible to fracture.