If you have an infected or abscessed tooth, then it may be time to have a root canal procedure. Root canals are considered tooth-saving treatments. This means that the tooth will not need to be pulled. While this is a great benefit to you and your overall oral health, you should know that there are some drawbacks to root canals. Keep reading to learn what they are so you are well informed before the root canal is performed. 

Your Tooth Will Be Brittle

Healthy teeth contain tooth pulp, dental nerves, and blood vessels. The blood vessels feed the tooth pulp, and pulp provides the tooth with both nutrition and fluid. The fluids that run through your tooth keep the enamel and dentin from becoming brittle. This keeps cracks and chips at bay and allows your tooth to remain whole and healthy for a long period of time. 

During a root canal, the pulp is removed. Your tooth will no longer receive nutrition afterwards, and the dentin and enamel may become brittle. This means that the treated tooth is far more likely to crack in the future. The good news is that you will feel no pain when this happens since the tooth nerve will be removed during the root canal. However, serious cracks and the loss of significant tooth material may mean that you need a crown.

Some dentists will advise the placement of dental crowns after the root canal is performed. This can help to protect the brittle tooth and prevent future cracks.

The Root Canal May Take A While

If you have dental anxieties and fears, then you should know that root canals can take some time to complete. You may need to make several appointments with your dentist as well before the root canal is entirely complete. 

The initial root canal appointment is likely to take an hour or more. This timeframe allows your dentist to carefully drill into your tooth to create an opening. Tools are moved into this opening to break up the dental pulp and to remove it. The tooth roots are cleaned out, the nerve is removed, and the internal chamber is medicated. Once all of these tasks are completed, the tooth is capped.

During the entire treatment, your dentist must carefully remove all traces of bacteria and pulp. If he does not, then a new infection can develop and the treatment will need to be completed again. This is why the initial cleaning tasks so long. It is best to be patient and to remain as calm as possible so the treatment can be completed the right way the first time around. 

Contact a dentist like Kyle J Frisinger DMD for more questions about root canal procedures.