Five root canal myths that keep people in pain

Myth one: root canals are excruciating. The procedure is done under local anaesthesia and the vast majority of patients feel nothing beyond pressure. The pain people associate with root canals is the pulpitis that brought them in, not the treatment that relieved it.

Myth two: it is better to just remove the tooth. An extraction is faster and cheaper on the day, but the space then needs an implant or a bridge, both of which cost considerably more than the root canal would have. Neighbouring teeth also drift and the opposing tooth over-erupts.

Myth three: root canals cause systemic disease. This claim traces back to discredited research from the 1920s known as focal infection theory. It has been examined repeatedly and rejected by every major dental and medical body.

Myth four: a root canal needs three or four visits. With rotary instrumentation and apex locators, most single and multi-rooted teeth are completed in one sitting, provided there is no active pus discharge.

Myth five: you do not need a crown afterwards. A root-treated tooth is brittle because it has lost its blood supply and a large amount of structure. Without full cusp coverage, the failure rate over five years rises sharply. The crown is not an upsell, it is part of the treatment.