Does Root Canal Therapy Hurt?
The short answer is no, root therapy doesn't hurt. A tooth's roots are embedded in your jawbone at one end and connect with the tooth's pulp (nerves and blood vessels) at the other. Your jawbone feeds the tooth through the roots' canals. If you need a root canal treatment, then your tooth and pulp are severely infected, and likely already in the grips of significant pain. Root canal therapy can alleviate it for you.
Treating Tooth Decay
Root canal therapy, or RCT, is a last resort treatment for an extensive cavity - a hole in your tooth caused by an aggressive infection called tooth decay. As a cavity progresses, it erodes your tooth's structure, working its way towards the pulp at the tooth's center. If caught before it reaches the nerves and blood vessels, then a cavity can be treated and the tooth restored with a tooth-colored dental filling. If decay reaches the pulp, however, then the infection could spread through the connected roots and into the surrounding jawbone and gum tissue.
Relieving Tooth Pain
Before root canal therapy, your dentist will administer local anesthesia to numb the tooth and surrounding tissues. During the procedure, your dentist will carefully access the tooth's interior to clean out the infected tissues and any residual bacteria. Once the tooth is cleaned, the roots can be sealed with gutta percha to prevent bacteria from spreading. Then, the tooth can be restored with a composite resin filling and topped with a lifelike dental crown. Removing the infection from your tooth will alleviate your discomfort, allowing you to return to your daily life, minus the severe toothache.