It’s time to set straight one of the most popular myths in dentistry: Root Canal Treatment is always painful.

Hearing the term “root canal” probably makes you cringe. For many people, what comes to mind when they think of “root canal” is pain – agonizing, excruciating pain. Because of this, many people hesitate if they think they might be in need of a root canal. However, what many people don’t know is that root canals are not as torturous as they’re made out to be.

Root canals have a bad reputation as being extremely painful procedures, and this is why many people fear getting one. However, this is rarely the case. Root canal therapy is actually performed to relieve pain. The majority of patients claim that they did not feel any pain at all during the actual procedure.

Root canal therapy is recommended when an untreated cavity spreads to the pulp of the tooth and causes an infection. It is the infection that really causes most of the pain, not the actual treatment. During the treatment, an endodontist will numb the area around the affected tooth so that you only feel very minor pain if any at all.

Most people continue to feel better after a root canal procedure, as well. There may still be some pain, as with most procedures that require incisions, but the discomfort is comparatively better than the suffering before the procedure was performed.