Post Treatment Care

Endodontic therapy involves micro-surgery inside the tooth itself.  While our treatment involves very small manipulations, it is still considered surgery and often involves some degree of discomfort afterwards. 

We will send you home with instructions for pain management and how to care for your tooth while recovering from treatment and until a follow-up visit.

As the medication used to numb your mouth during the procedure wears off, you may feel some tenderness in the area for a few days as everything heals and some mild soreness in your jaw from keeping your mouth open for an extended period during the procedure. These temporary symptoms usually respond well to over-the-counter medication but we may prescribe stronger, narcotic medication as well. Please follow all guidelines for the use of these medications. 

Please be gentle using this area for a few days, there is a lot of healing which must take place and it is particularly important not to abuse this area as it works on healing.  This means gentle biting and chewing, while maintaining good oral hygiene throughout. 

If you notice that your bite feels off, this tooth is hitting high or harder than the other teeth, swelling, fever, bleeding, rash or increasing pain, please call us right away.  If your temporary filling comes out, please let us or your general dentist know as soon as possible to prevent re-infection of the tooth.

Given that we are working on nerve tissues, you may experience a slightly altered sensation from your treated tooth than your other teeth.  This can last for some time, and usually recovers completely. 

After your procedure is complete, wait until the numbness in your mouth wears off before eating so that you won’t bite your cheek or tongue. It is easy to inadvertently damage or traumatize your tooth while it is numb.  Don’t chew or bite down hard on the treated tooth until it is fully restored by a dentist to avoid damaging it.

Once your root canal treatment is completed, you will often need to follow up with your general dentist to complete restoration of the tooth.   It is important to make this appointment as soon as possible. A properly treated, sealed and restored tooth can last as long as your natural teeth.