Is a root canal as painful as people say?

No, and this is the single biggest myth in dentistry. The pain people remember is the infected tooth that sent them to the dentist in the first place. Once you are numb, the treatment itself should feel much like having a filling, and it takes that pain away.

Why not just take the tooth out?

Because nothing replaces your own tooth as well as your own tooth. Extraction is quicker and cheaper on the day, but then you have a gap, and an implant or bridge to pay for. Saving the tooth is almost always the better long-term decision.

How long does it take?

Usually around ninety minutes, and often across two appointments. It is longer than a filling because the canals inside the tooth have to be cleaned thoroughly. For you, most of that is simply lying still.

Will I need a crown afterwards?

Almost certainly. A tooth that has had a root canal becomes more brittle, and a crown protects it from splitting. We will explain the cost of both up front, so there are no surprises.

How long will the tooth last?

Root-treated teeth can last for many years, often for life, particularly once crowned. It still needs brushing, flossing and regular check-ups, exactly like the rest of your teeth.

Can I go back to work afterwards?

Most people do. The tooth may feel a little tender for a few days, which ordinary painkillers handle easily. Avoid chewing hard on that side until it is crowned.

Root canal treatment at Lye Dental and Implant Centre

Root Canal Treatment in Stourbridge

Saving
the tooth.

It has a fearsome reputation it no longer deserves. Done properly, it relieves the pain rather than causing it, and it saves a tooth we would otherwise lose.

What to expect Book an appointment

Root canal treatment

The treatment that
ends the pain.

People dread it because they confuse it with the toothache that sent them in. The toothache is the problem. This is the cure.

Root canal /ruːt kəˈnæl/ Noun

Treatment for a tooth whose nerve has become infected, in which the infection is cleaned out from inside the tooth and the space sealed.
The last way to save a tooth once decay or injury has reached the living centre. Without it, the tooth would have to come out.
A relief from pain, not a cause of it. The procedure removes the very nerve that has been hurting you.

The tooth stays. It keeps working, it keeps its place, and in most cases nobody would ever know.

90 Minutes, roughly

4 Signs you might need one See them

Lingering pain — that stays long after hot or cold
Pain when biting — or when you press on the tooth
A darkening tooth — greying compared to its neighbours
A gum boil — a small swelling near the tooth

0 Pain, once you are numb

See what happens Your appointment

Root canal treatment at Lye Dental in Stourbridge

Why it matters

Nothing like the
stories you hear.

Almost nobody who has actually had one describes it as the ordeal they expected. The dread is far worse than the appointment.

The pain is why you came, not what we do

You are already in pain when you arrive. That is the infected nerve. We numb the tooth completely, and the treatment takes that nerve away. Most people leave feeling better than when they walked in.

It is not much different to a filling

Longer, certainly. But you are lying in the same chair, numb in the same way, with the same person. It is a bigger job, not a more painful one.

The alternative is losing the tooth

This is the last option before extraction. Once the nerve is infected, it will not recover. It is a root canal, or the tooth comes out.

Nobody will ever know

The tooth is sealed and almost always crowned afterwards, matched to your other teeth. It carries on doing its job for years.

Book an appointment Click a card to peel it away

How it works

How a root canal works.

Longer than a filling, but no more painful. Here is what actually happens.

01 / 04

We work out what is wrong

An x-ray and a few gentle tests tell us whether the nerve is infected. We explain exactly what we have found before we do anything.

02 / 04

Getting you numb

This is the part that matters most, so we take our time over it. We do not begin until you are completely numb, and you tell us when that is.

03 / 04

Cleaning it out

We open the top of the tooth and clean the infection out of the canals inside. This is the long part, though for you it is mostly just lying still.

04 / 04

Sealing and crowning

We seal the cleaned canals so nothing can get back in. The tooth is then almost always crowned to protect it, and it looks like any other tooth.

How it works

How a root canal works.

Longer than a filling, but no more painful. Here is what actually happens.

Step 01

We work out what is wrong

An x-ray and a few gentle tests tell us whether the nerve is infected. We explain exactly what we have found before we do anything.

Step 02

Getting you numb

This is the part that matters most, so we take our time over it. We do not begin until you are completely numb, and you tell us when that is.

Step 03

Cleaning it out

We open the top of the tooth and clean the infection out of the canals inside. This is the long part, though for you it is mostly just lying still.

Step 04

Sealing and crowning

We seal the cleaned canals so nothing can get back in. The tooth is then almost always crowned to protect it, and it looks like any other tooth.

01 / 04

Book an appointment

The real decision

Save it, or
lose it?

Once the nerve is infected, there are only two ways forward. We will always tell you honestly which one we would choose.

Saves What we would recommend