Root Canal Side Effects and Root Canal Risks

A root canal is a procedure that allows a person to save a decayed or dead tooth. If a root canal is not done on a decayed or dead tooth the tooth will have to be pulled.

If a tooth is dead or decayed it must be removed or have a root canal performed on it. If the tooth is left in the mouth after it is dead or decaying than the tooth will cause swelling, eventual bone loss and drainage problems. The dead or decaying tooth may also cause an infection to occur.

A root canal procedure involves removing the nerves, tissue, pulp and blood vessels from the root canal of the tooth. Once the root canal has been performed the tooth is usually protected by placing a cap on the tooth.

Root Canal Side Effects

Root canal side effects do exist. Root canal side effects can be a discoloring of the tooth, the tooth does not grow after the procedure, greater risk of fracturing the tooth, pain during and after the procedure and the tooth may feel different after the procedure.

The cap that is placed on the tooth after the root canal is performed generally hides the discoloration of the tooth if any occurs. After a root canal a person will have a numb mouth and partially numb face due to the anesthetic used to numb the tooth.

Normal anesthetic precautions should be taken by the dentist and side effects could also occur due to the anesthetic that is used during the root canal. The most common root canal side effects are pain after the procedure and the tooth feeling different after the procedure. A common root canal side effect of children having a root canal performed is that the tooth stops growing after the procedure is performed.

Root canal risks involve the fact that an infection could occur due to an undetected crack in the root of the tooth or an infection could occur due to the dentist allowing bacteria to get inside the tooth during the procedure. Root canal risks are very few.

Photo credit: David Shankbone