Braces as an adult? No way. At least, that was what I thought when my dentist told me that I was going to have to see an orthodontist about my crooked teeth. But my teeth were so misaligned that they were causing me pain when I chewed, so I decided to at least look into it. Turns out braces today are nothing like the ones my friends had when I was a kid. Mine were practically invisible, and I didn't need to wear them that long. I started this blog to encourage other people like me who are nervous about the prospect of wearing braces as an adult. My straight smile is so worth the trips to the orthodontist, and wearing braces was nowhere near as bad as I thought. Read on to find out more about how you can straighten your smile.
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Root canals are a common dental procedure in which the dentist opens up a tooth to clean out an infected section inside. The procedure usually becomes necessary when a tooth becomes painful or when a widespread dental infection can be traced back to a single tooth source. Cost and misconceptions about the procedure might have you procrastinating on making a root canal appointment.
Here are two reasons you might want to make that dental appointment today.
There's No Other Way to Get Rid of that infection
If you have a phobia about going to the dentist, putting off an appointment can involve some emotional stages similar to those that deal with grief. At some point, you might find yourself trying to bargain your way out of the root canal. Surely some antibiotics could just clear up that infection and keep you out of the chair?
Sorry, if that were the case, the dentist would've simply prescribed the antibiotics in the first place. Scheduling a root canal wasn't a way for your dentist to get more money or to delight in watching you squirm in the seat. The infection inside your tooth has reached a point where it needs a deep cleaning. Substituting in antibiotics alone could leave the infection partly untreated, which can lead to recurrences.
Dental infections aren't something you want to mess around with. The dental area is closely tied to your sinus, ears and general bloodstream, and spreading or trading the infection back and forth between those areas is only going to cause more problems in the long run.
It Isn't a Long or Painful Process
Despite how common root canals have become, it seems that a lot of people still have no clue what the procedure actually involves. And this lack of understanding can in turn cause misunderstandings about how involved and painful it is to get a root canal.
For the root canal, your dentist will remove the natural top, or crown, of your tooth to access the interior. The infected pulp material inside is then sterilized and cleaned out. Your dentist then attaches an artificial crown to cap your tooth back off, protecting the sensitive root structures inside.
The process is a bit more involved than an ordinary filling, but far less involved than something like a dental implant, which requires surgical bonding and months of healing time. You can likely take care of the entire root canal process in a couple of visits with at least one of those visits dedicated solely to examination and the prep work for creating your new crown. That leaves the actual "dental work" part of your process down to about one appointment if you only need one tooth done.
For more information about the root canal process, contact a clinic such as Pooley Dentistry.
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