How to Recover Faster after Root Canal Therapy: Tips and Tricks

How to Recover Faster after Root Canal Therapy: Tips and Tricks

June 1, 2023

When you receive a suggestion from your dentist that the excruciating toothache you experience results from a deep infection inside your tooth, which is best eradicated by receiving root canal therapy in Wynnewood, PA, you may wonder how long you must endure the pain from the root canal or how to speed your recovery. This article provides the information you need with tips and tricks to help you achieve your goal.

Root canals are not as fearsome as imagined because you don’t experience discomfort when receiving the treatment to help eliminate a severe infection inside your tooth that potentially results in extractions unless you receive endodontic treatment to eliminate the condition within your tooth.

How Does the Wynnewood Eliminate the Infection?

After examining your tooth to determine the severity of the damage, the dentist gives you local anesthesia near the infected tooth to block pain impulses and make you comfortable. If you are anxious about dental procedures, you can request sedation from the dentist, which they happily provide.

After the tooth is entirely numb, the dentist drills it open to expose the infected dental pulp for removal. Next, they use state-of-the-art technology and flexible instruments to remove the dental pulp from the access hole created in the crown with the nerves. The endodontist near you also cleans and disinfects the canals inside your tooth to ensure no infection remains before filling and sealing it with a uniquely biocompatible material, gutta-percha. Finally, they also close the access hole in your tooth with a temporary filling, asking you to restore the tooth after you recover from the procedure.

Oral Hygiene after Root Canal Therapy

Maintaining oral hygiene after receiving a root canal should not concern you. You can continue your regular dental hygiene practices as usual, using a soft-bristled toothbrush for cleaning your teeth and flossing them to remove trapped debris between them. However, you must remain careful near the treated tooth and brush it gently to ensure you don’t dislodge the temporary filling until you restore it with a dental crown.

While you cannot use mouthwash for rinsing because it contains alcohol, you can consider home remedies like salt water rinses, using them several times daily to keep your mouth clean. Using these suggestions help ensure you recover quickly and prepare for getting the tooth restored as soon as possible.

Dietary and Lifestyle Changes to Speed Recovery after Root Canal Treatment

Some dietary and lifestyle changes are essential to speed recovery after receiving a root canal. However, they are temporary measures until you restore your tooth after you recover. Meanwhile, you can use the following tips and tricks with dietary and lifestyle changes. They are:

  • Avoid Smoking and Alcohol Consumption: Smoking besides impacting your overall health is also harmful to your recovery after a root canal. Smoking delays your recovery and may even cause infections to need additional treatments from the Wynnewood dentist. Alcohol interacts with the pain relievers you receive to manage discomfort after a root canal. Therefore you must avoid these substances until you recover.
  • Food Choices: Following a root canal treatment, it helps if you refrain from eating until your mouth is no longer numb to prevent biting your tongue or burning your throat and having hot beverages. If you love ice cream, the dentist suggests eating as much as possible because the temperature helps alleviate inflammation and prevent infections to make your recovery quicker. You can also use a cold compress on your cheeks for 15 minutes on and off as many times as you want on the day of your treatment.
  • Avoid Harmful Foods: While getting stuck into a bowl of ice cream will not cause harm after a root canal, you must refrain from hot beverages, drinking with straws, or eating foods that require sucking. These varieties can cause gum inflammation and swelling to inhibit your recovery.
  • Avoiding Strenuous Activity: Root canals will likely keep your home for one or two days. However, it is an excellent time to give your body some rest to recover. Therefore you must avoid strenuous activities like exercising, running, or lifting heavy objects because they might cause bleeding from the treated tooth and delay your recovery.

Besides the above, the dentist in Wynnewood, PA suggests taking painkillers to alleviate discomfort after endodontic treatment. Ensure that you do not skip doses because they, too, can delay recovery. These tips and following your dentist’s instructions help you recover faster after root canal therapy, preparing you to restore your tooth and enjoy its functionality in your mouth for many years.

If you visit Wynnewood Dental Arts with excruciating pain in a specific tooth and receive a recommendation for root canal treatment, kindly accept the proposal and receive the therapy as soon as possible. The dental practice provides comprehensive instructions on recovering faster after receiving this procedure to make you feel root canals are a breeze.

Book an Appointment

* Fields with asterisks are required.
Font Resize
Contrast
Click to listen highlighted text!