If you have an abscessed tooth or a tooth that decay has severely affected, your dentist may recommend that you do a root canal procedure. This procedure is often an alternative to pulling a tooth and keeps the tooth in your mouth, which is often better for your overall oral health in the long term.

Of course, if you’re like most patients, you probably have a few questions about root canal procedures. Hopefully, you will find the answers below.

1. Are Root Canals Painful?

Somewhere along the line, root canals got the unfortunate reputation of being painful. The idea of a dentist drilling into your tooth and removing the pulp — which is what happens during a root canal — does not sound pleasant. And it would not be if not for modern anesthetics.

Thankfully, your dentist will inject your gums with a local anesthetic prior to doing any work on your tooth. This won’t render you unconscious like general anesthesia, but it will ensure you don’t feel a thing during the procedure. You’ll just feel a mild pinch and stinging sensation during the injection itself.

Some patients do experience jaw aches from holding their mouth open during the root canal, but this tends to be minor. If you’ve dealt with toothaches and other dental discomfort, a root canal can actually ease that pain.

From the removal of impacted wisdom teeth to taking out an infected tooth to save your oral health, extractions can be beneficial. Of course, extractions do require small incisions in the gum tissue that makes the procedure a bit invasive. Therefore, it is important to follow your dentist’s instructions to heal properly after an extraction.

Unfortunately, dry sockets occur in an estimated two to five percent of extractions. Even though dry sockets are common, especially after the extraction of wisdom teeth, most people do not fully understand this problem. With this guide and your dentist’s help, you will have a full understanding of dry sockets.

A broken tooth is a dental emergency. Unlike the enamel craze lines that may cause cosmetic issues but typically don’t cause pain, breaks in your tooth are serious. You’ll typically feel pain, and in some cases, a portion of your tooth may be loose or even missing.

Although a broken or chipped tooth can occur due to a physical injury, it can also happen when you’re eating or even at night when you grind your teeth in your sleep. Here are some tips on what to do and what not to do if your tooth breaks.

You aren’t even 40 yet but you’ve already lost a few teeth. This situation can be very frustrating because missing teeth can affect your dental health in a variety of ways. And while you think that dentures could be beneficial, you may want to consider dental implants instead because they provide many of the same benefits but have others advantages to consider.

Improves Your Dental (and Overall) Health

When you lose a tooth at any age, the surrounding teeth may suffer from damage. For example, the shape of the jaw could sag, which may put excessive strain on the rest of the teeth in your mouth. Even worse, a missing tooth may make bacteria invasion easier, which could affect the health of your gums and trigger other unpredictable health issues.

Summertime is full of fun and adventures for children, but a lot of dangers lurk in the summer months that can affect your child’s oral health. If you want to better protect your child’s teeth and gums this summer, check out these four tips you should follow.

1. Stick With Healthy Drinks

Summer can get hot, which makes drinks like soda and juice all the more appealing, but sugary drinks are terrible for your kid’s teeth because sugar attracts bacteria, which leads to tooth decay. Some drinks such as soda and orange juice are also high in acid. This acid is strong enough to soften your child’s tooth enamel, and without strong enamel, bacteria easily penetrate.