A root canal is one of the most common dental procedures that help you eliminate the infected tooth and improve your oral health. This procedure is considered to relieve tooth infection, tooth decay, or damaged tooth.
This dental procedure asks for special attention and care from your side. Let’s see how you can take care of your root canal teeth.
Caring for a Root Canal Tooth
While root canal treatment may sound tricky, it is generally an outpatient procedure, and the dentist will usually send a patient home on the same day as the surgery. The dentist will send the patient back home with the required instructions. You need to take care of your teeth post-surgery and follow the instructions carefully.
Gum disease treatments are often followed by sensitivity. Your tooth will be sensitive for a few days post-surgery; hence you must take a little extra care. With proper care, you will not only ensure that it lasts longer, but it will also improve your oral health in the long run. Here are a few tips that can help you through,
There’s No Substitute to Brushing and Flossing
Brushing and flossing are the two fundamental steps for taking care of your teeth. In this critical time, you need to make sure that you are maintaining a good oral routine. It would be best if you kept your treated area clean to avoid further infection. This can be achieved by brushing your teeth twice daily and flossing once every day. Brushing and flossing should not be avoided after a root canal treatment, leading to further dental issues. However, it would help if you were careful while brushing and flossing to prevent your tooth’s irritation.
Make sure that you do not put excess pressure on your tooth while brushing. You need to go slow and brush with fluoride toothpaste. When flossing, make sure you are going easy with the floss and do not pull it upward near the crown.
Thorough cleaning of your teeth is crucial. Hence, pay a little extra attention to the gaps between your teeth where food gets lodged. Aside from that, it would help if you saw your dentist at regular intervals to examine your oral health. Make sure that you follow his instructions and visit your dentist routinely.
Take Care of What You Eat
As we said, your root canal tooth will be a little sensitive for a few days. Hence, it would help if you kept a watch on what you eat. You need to avoid such food that can lead to irritation. Certain food items, including fries, chips, nuts, or harsh things, can cause pressure on your tooth. Avoid eating such food items that can put pressure on your tooth. Also, avoid sugary items for a while as it can lead to infection.
Apart from this, avoid hard biting or chewing forcefully with the treated tooth for a few days. This will make sure that the tooth stays in place with good health.
Your dentist will prescribe you a local anesthetic before surgery. This will cause numbness for a considerable time. It would help if you waited until the numbness wears off entirely before eating anything. Eating in numbness can cause unnecessary chewing of the tongue or cheek that will further aggravate your problem. Once the numbness is gone, you need to watch what you eat.
Comfort food should be your go at this time. Go for something easy to chew. For instance, oatmeal, soups, soft vegetables, scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, mashed banana, and pasta can make it easy for your teeth.
Avoid hard, oily, and sticky food at all costs, as this can lead to cracks in your teeth.
Keep a Check on Your Medication
Once the numbness subsides from the anesthetic, you may feel tenderness in the area for your healing period. Some people might even feel sore, but it is not shared.
It might feel a little uncomfortable, but these symptoms are transient, and it will restore with over the counter medication. Your dentist might also prescribe you more potent medication to deal with pain. He will also prescribe you antibiotics to curb the spreading of infection. Make sure that you follow your prescription and take medicines on time. If you still feel pain and notice infection, visit your dentist immediately.
Visit Your Dentist
Dental procedures are not easy. You are likely to feel a tingling sensation and discomfort in the treated area for a while. You are advised to visit your emergency dentist if you experience swelling or pressure on your gums. If you feel excessive pressure or any allergic reaction in your mouth, it might be due to your medication. In any case, make sure that you do not ignore these symptoms and visit your dentist at the earliest. They will check your root canal tooth and suggest the best solutions to avoid any complications.
Taking proper care of your teeth after your surgery is essential. Right from brushing and flossing to eating well and visiting your dentist, you need to keep a check on your oral health to avoid further complications. A root canal procedure can be a little overwhelming for you in the beginning. However, you can make it right by taking proper care and maintaining oral hygiene post-surgery.
We at Huch Family Dentistry Goose Creek SC are dedicated to improving your oral health. From analyzing the root cause of your dental issues to giving you the best gum disease treatments, our experienced team of dentists is here to take care of your dental needs. We provide overall solutions to your dental issues, including emergency dentist services, dental examination, X-rays, cleaning, filling, as well as diet recommendations to provide you with better oral health. Contact us today or call us at (843)-797-0782