For the longest time, root canal procedures have been been met with a lot of dread and fear in the patient. This is due in part because of the overwhelming misconceptions circulating about this dental procedure. Images of drills and needles are enough to make a person avoid discussing the this form of dental treatment. But is the root canal procedure really as bad as it seems?

Misconception No. 1: It hurts.

Pain is one thing which will deter any person from opting for this procedure. But what is ironic is that root canal procedures are actually done to ease the pain, not lead to more pain. When you have an infected tooth, the nerves found within the tooth will constantly interpret the irritation as pain. And since these sensitive nerves are found within the very core of the tooth, the pain will radiate from the very heart of the tooth leaving you with chronic, excruciating pain.

What the root canal procedure does is to kill off the nerves found within the infected tooth in order to halt the pain. While this might be accomplished by drilling into the tooth and scooping out the pulp, the entire procedure is done with the patient being sufficiently anesthetized. For this reason, the patient should feel just a slight discomfort throughout the procedure but nothing more.

Misconception No. 2: It will lead to illness.

There are a lot of myths in the Internet which have related illnesses to endodontic treatments, or procedures which involve the inner layer of the teeth. However, there is still a lack of scientific studies to support this claim. The basis of this now defunct theory is that bacteria could actually find a way into the heart of the tooth due to the tooth not being sealed off properly and from there, the pathogens can make their way to blood vessels and cause infection which can allegedly affect the heart among other organs.However, experts have already refuted this theory by stating that it’s when the tooth is in constant state of infection when the risk for systemic infection increases, something which root canal treatments address.

Misconception No. 3: Extraction is a better option.

While extraction may be the only option in certain cases, if the crown is not damaged considerably, then it would be wiser to go for a root canal treatment instead since it preserves the tooth and prevents the loss of function which happens when the tooth is extracted.

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