A root canal is an incredibly reliable way to address infected tissue within your tooth. While this care is an incredibly important part of dental restoration, you want to do everything in your power to avoid these appointments. This dental care is often preceded by persistent pain, tender gums, and discomfort while eating or drinking.
However, with proper dental care, you can easily avoid a root canal and ensure the long-term strength and health of your smile. In this blog, we’ll discuss several steps you can take to ensure you’re properly caring for your smile so you can avoid a root canal and the pre-appointment discomfort associated with this care.
Great Ways to Avoid a Root Canal
1. Brush Twice Daily
The easiest way to avoid a root canal is by brushing your teeth twice a day. However, it isn’t just about picking up your toothbrush. You want to ensure you’re properly brushing. Failing to brush every surface of your tooth or rushing through the process may result in inadequate cleaning. When brushing, you should brush for at least two minutes.
Make sure that you are brushing the fronts, backs, and chewing surfaces of your teeth. You should also clean your tongue while brushing to address any harmful bacteria that may be present. Finally, avoid eating or drinking after brushing at the end of the night, as this may allow bacteria to run rampant while you sleep and increase your risk of decay or infection.
2. Don’t Forget to Floss
In addition to brushing, you don’t want to skip out on flossing if you want to avoid a root canal. Flossing is an integral, but often overlooked, part of the dental hygiene routine. An estimated 20% of American adults state that they don’t ever floss. However, by foregoing this essential step in your oral hygiene routine, you allow bacteria to multiply, putting your oral health at risk.
If you want to avoid a root canal, it is essential that you floss at least once a day. While you floss, you remove tough food particles and bacteria from between your teeth. Without care, this food and bacteria may lead to cavities, which, if left untreated, can spiral into far more severe oral infections that require endodontic treatment to remedy.
3. Drink Plenty of Water
You’ve likely heard it from every health professional in your life, but drinking plenty of water is also a great way to help you avoid a root canal. Water is an essential tool in removing harmful bacteria and lingering food particles or sugars after a meal. When you drink water periodically throughout the day, you help rinse this bacteria off your teeth.
Additionally, drinking water is great for ensuring adequate saliva production. Your saliva contains the enzyme lysozyme, which is responsible for preventing bacterial growth in your mouth. By drinking plenty of water, you guarantee sufficient saliva production, which aids in rinsing away food particles and protecting against the most harmful oral bacteria.
4. Avoid Acidic, Sticky, or Hard Foods
While you may love sipping on juices, snacking on candies, or chewing on ice, all of these foods pose a significant risk to your oral health. Acids can break down your enamel, leading to an increased risk of cavity development. Hard or sticky foods can lead to accidental cracks or chips, increasing your risk of further damage or infections.
If you want to avoid a root canal and protect your smile, it is best that you limit your exposure to these foods. While occasional consumption is fine, regularly eating acidic, sticky, or hard foods greatly compromises your oral health and should be avoided to protect your teeth from easily avoidable damage.
5. Address Tooth Pain Immediately
If you’ve dealt with severe tooth pain in the past with no clear sign of why you’re dealing with it, you may find yourself ignoring these symptoms and continuing with business as normal. However, choosing to ignore lingering tooth pain can have severe consequences, including worsening of the root cause of your problems and more extreme symptoms.
To avoid a root canal and more complex oral health complications, it is important that you schedule a visit with your trusted dental team as soon as possible. Even the most minor discomfort may be a sign that you have a cavity. If this goes untreated, the infection can progress into the interior of your tooth, leading to the need for a root canal.
6. Schedule Regular Dental Checkups
The final way to avoid a root canal is by scheduling regular dental checkups with a trusted dental team. During your twice-yearly checkups, your dentist, dental hygienists, and assistants will take X-rays and assess your current oral health to determine whether you’re experiencing any complications, like early cavity development or gum disease.
If they spot any signs of oral health complications, they can be addressed immediately. Additionally, if they are past the point of basic care, your dental team may direct you to an endodontic team, who can provide you with essential support and make the treatment process as simple and straightforward as possible.
Turn to David G. Johnson, DDS, When You Need a Root Canal
When you’re dealing with severe oral health problems, time is of the essence. While you can do a lot of things to avoid a root canal, you may still need to schedule one. If you’re looking for a reliable endodontic team to help you through this process, turn to our team at David G. Johnson, DDS, for support.
Since 1990, our team has provided comprehensive endodontic care to patients across Northern Utah. Whether you need a root canal or have recently experienced a traumatic tooth injury, we have the tools, training, and experience to help you through it all. No matter what oral health complication you’re facing, we’re here to provide expert support.
If you need to schedule a root canal with our team, don’t hesitate to contact us in Centerville or Layton today.
