Root canal filling – post-procedure recommendations

The human body is completely unpredictable. Thus, even after a root canal filling, no matter how correctly performed, the body's reactivity cannot be controlled. No guarantees can be given in this respect, as each patient is a completely individual entity and so are the reactions following endodontic treatment.

What is recommended after a root canal filling?

1. First and perhaps most importantly, following any root canal treatment there is a possibility that the patient may experience painful discomfort and this is perfectly normal. As I mentioned above, each patient is individual, therefore each patient's reactivity is different, there is no standard. This discomfort can manifest itself in different ways as mild, medium or even severe pain. In these cases it is recommended to take analgesics, such as nurofen, ibuprofen, ketonal etc, any analgesic that the patient usually takes for pain and to which he/she is not known to be allergic. By taking painkillers the pain will gradually decrease, from day to day the intensity becoming less and less intense. The pain can last from a few days to two weeks. It is important to understand that this is a normal phenomenon. After a root canal filling, the area around the tooth is irritated both by the mechanical treatment - the fact that we are penetrating the root canal with needles and sometimes the bone is inevitably punctured, and by the cleaning we perform with specific solutions - and these can sometimes be slightly irritating. Until the area is completely healed by the body's cells, it is normal to feel this discomfort.

2. In a smaller percentage, in some cases, after root canal filling, the so-called "flare up" phenomenon may occur, i.e. the formation of an abscess shortly after the completion of the treatment. This phenomenon occurs most often when there is a secretion on the canals - in the case of gangrene or purulent apical periodontitis. It is manifested by the appearance of a swelling at the root of the tooth that has been worked on, the mucous membrane becomes red, painful, sometimes with the appearance of a spot of pus. The patient may also feel a throbbing pain. The explanation for this phenomenon is that sometimes, at the apical level, bacteria can remain lodged on the tip of the tooth that will die by autolysis, in the absence of a nutritive substrate that has been removed by root canal treatment - but until then they can cause such phenomena. In these cases, in addition to the analgesics mentioned above, seven days of antibiotics are administered and, when necessary, the abscess will be incised.

3. Another extremely important aspect that patients must realize is that after root canal filling, the treated tooth should be covered with a crown. All teeth with root canal treatments become more brittle, more brittle, because they are deprived of the nutrition provided by the specific vascular-nervous bundle of each tooth. There is a different modulus of elasticity between the reconstructive material and the remaining tooth structure, so the masticatory forces will be taken up differently with an increased risk of fracture - it is usually the tooth structure that fails. By covering the tooth with a crown ensures a uniform transmission of forces, with the same type of material covering all tooth surfaces. This considerably prolongs the life of the tooth in the dental arch.

4. Another important recommendation is related to anesthesia. Usually, after a root canal filling, the effect of anesthesia still persists, therefore it is advisable that the patient eats after the anesthesia has completely worn off to protect the soft parts, cheek, tongue, lip that can be bitten by chewing.

It is very difficult, if not impossible, to offer guarantees in any field of medicine given how unpredictable the human body's reactivity is. This is why it is important that patients do not panic when these phenomena occur, to understand that they are normal and to follow the indications that the doctor gives. If you feel that something is wrong after a filling