When the dental pulp in your tooth becomes infected, often, the only choice for treatment is root canal therapy. Receiving root canal therapy in Ellicott City can be the difference between keeping your natural tooth for life or needing to have it extracted, which makes it an ideal procedure.
However, at times, even root canals fail, and when they do, the best course of action is root canal retreatment. But how do you know when pain after a root canal indicates a need for endodontic retreatment? When this occurs, your best option is to reach out to an endodontist for their professional opinion. You can also review this guide to root canal retreatment to establish an understanding of whether you’re dealing with a post root canal infection or just some standard post-procedure discomfort.
If you need root canal therapy in Ellicott City, reach out to Access Endodontics today by calling 410.304.7226. Dr. Lina Jarboe, Dr. Burton Waxman, and our team of dedicated dental professionals are committed to providing patients with the expert care needed to protect and preserve their natural teeth.
What Is Root Canal Retreatment?
A root canal or endodontic retreatment is a procedure that may need to be performed if a patient experiences an infection after a root canal procedure. A root canal is a procedure intended to remove the infected dental pulp from the inside of the tooth to avoid extraction.
When the root canal retreatment procedure is performed, it is essentially just a second root canal. Your endodontist will remove the filling from the inside of the tooth and search for previously undiscovered canals that may have become infected. This procedure has a very high success rate. In certain cases, retreatments can be performed about two or three times before it’s ruled out as a viable solution and extraction becomes inevitable.
How to Know When You Need Root Canal Retreatment
If you’ve recently had a root canal procedure, or even if you’ve had a root canal procedure in the last several months or even years, and you’re feeling significant pain in that particular tooth, you may have a post root canal infection that requires retreatment. Pain after a root canal is not always a sure sign your procedure was unsuccessful, but it’s always worth mentioning to your endodontist.
Another sign that you may have an infection after a root canal is an abscess in the surrounding area. Abscesses are swollen pockets of pus resulting from an infection that at first may not be painful but, in time, will almost certainly cause significant discomfort.
What Causes an Infection After a Root Canal?
There are multiple reasons why your root canal therapy may have proved unsuccessful and your tooth has become infected again. The following are the most common among them:
- Undetected areas – Complex sections of the inner tooth were not detected during the initial root canal procedure
- Narrow canals – Hard-to-reach areas of the tooth were not fully treated during the initial procedure
- Issues with the restoration – The crown covering the treated tooth was not properly placed on or was damaged, allowing bacteria in
- Post-procedure issues – Tooth decay or damage following the procedure allowed another infection
Following a root canal procedure, your best bet is to stick to a rigorous oral hygiene routine. Keeping in mind that this won’t always prevent another infection. When an infection does occur, a root canal retreatment may be your best option.
Call Access Endodontics for Root Canal Retreatment
If you’re experiencing a post root canal infection, contact. Drs. Jarboe and Waxman at Access Endodontics by calling 410.304.7226 or using our online form. We can assess your problematic tooth or teeth and develop a treatment plan to resolve your infection and restore your oral health.