CAN YOU DRIVE AFTER A ROOT CANAL?

Are you about to get a root canal soon at South Austin Dental Associates?

Then you probably have many questions about it, especially whether you need to ask someone to drive you home.

Well, the short answer is that it depends. Check out the long answer below.

Why Do Other People Need to Drive You Home After Dental Work?

Dental work sometimes requires the use of sedation, which helps people remain calm and perfectly relaxed during treatment.

There’s a misconception that only people with severe dental anxiety need sedation, but that’s not true. Dental sedatives can also help people with:

• Severe gag reflexes
• Motor disabilities or special needs
• Severe dental damage that requires lengthy and complex treatment, etc.

If you get sedation, you may need a friend or family member to drive you home, but not always. This is a precautionary measure for sedatives that take longer to wear off, such as oral consciousness or IV sedation.

If you get laughing gas, on the other hand, you can drive yourself home since the effects wear off quickly.

Does a Root Canal Require Dental Sedation?

Not always. If you don’t normally need sedation for dental work, you can most likely skip it for your root canal as well.

Sedation dentistry ensures patients are comfortable during treatment, but its effects on pain are not that strong. Instead, dentists will use local anesthesia to numb the mouth and block any pain from the tooth.

Unfortunately, with root canals, local anesthetics might not do much good if the infection is severe. In these cases, even if the anesthetic is applied, the inflammation will counteract its effects, and you’ll still feel pain. 

This could mean you’ll need to undergo antibiotic therapy for a few days first, and then proceed with your root canal.

How Does a Root Canal Work?

A root canal involves removing all the bacteria and infected tissue from inside the tooth. First, the dentist will drill it to reveal all this tissue and remove it using special tools. 

During it, the dentist also removes the nerves and tissues found in the canals, which are those narrow chambers of the root.

Once the tooth is cleaned, it’s disinfected, sealed, and then reconstructed. This could involve either a dental filling if the infection wasn’t too large or even a dental crown if the tooth lost too much tissue.

Do You Need a Root Canal? Call Us Today

If you’re dealing with a tooth infection and may need a root canal, Dr. Evan Matthysse is here to help you access comfortable and quality dental care.

Root canals don’t need to be painful, which is why you can benefit from both local anesthesia and dental sedation during your treatment.

Request a regular visit to South Austin Dental Associates online, or call us at (512) 444-1133 if you require emergency dental care.