My dentist said that I need a root canal treatment. Right now, it doesn’t hurt at all. I’m swamped with school and work. Is there a rule of thumb for how long you can put off a root canal treatment?
Temperance
Dear Temperance,
First, bear in mind that I have not examined you, but I can give you some general advice. If you have an active infection, then you would need to get the root canal treatment. Here are some of the signs that your infection is active:
- If you have pain in the tooth or gums. This does include minor pain.
- If it had been hurting recently, but has stopped.
- If there is discharge or a pimple on your gums. This is an abscessed tooth.
If they’re not happening now, keep an eye out for them. Any of those would mean you need to get that root canal treatment done. I’d schedule an urgent care dental appointment. Most dentists leave room in their schedule for these type of things. It doesn’t have to be today, but I wouldn’t put it off too long because these infections spread.
If it is not hurting and hasn’t for a while, then you have a latent infection and can put off the treatment. Bear in mind, that even a latent infection can have an impact on your general health. I don’t mean this in an alarming or dangerous way. But, it does have an impact on how you feel. I’ve known patients who had latent infections for years and, uniformly, after they finally dealt with it, they mentioned they felt better in general.
I’m not saying that to pressure you. It is fine if you want to put it off and you feel fine enough to keep up with things. I just realize you have a tough schedule and don’t want you having anything holding you back. That being said, a latent infection can be put off.
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