{"id":3980,"date":"2025-04-15T11:13:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T11:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.atriumfamilydental.com\/blog\/?p=3980"},"modified":"2025-04-16T23:15:17","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T23:15:17","slug":"do-you-need-a-root-canal-if-your-tooth-stops-hurting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atriumfamilydental.com\/blog\/2025\/04\/15\/do-you-need-a-root-canal-if-your-tooth-stops-hurting\/","title":{"rendered":"Do You Need a Root Canal If Your Tooth Stops Hurting?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" src=\"https:\/\/www.atriumfamilydental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/AdobeStock_280639707__1___1744845131_67224-1.jpg\" alt=\"A woman undergoing a root canal\" class=\"wp-image-3983\" style=\"width:303px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.atriumfamilydental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/AdobeStock_280639707__1___1744845131_67224-1.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.atriumfamilydental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/AdobeStock_280639707__1___1744845131_67224-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.atriumfamilydental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/AdobeStock_280639707__1___1744845131_67224-1-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re like most people, the main reason you&#8217;d get a root canal is to ease your toothache. Why bother with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.atriumfamilydental.com\/root-canals.html\">this treatment<\/a> unless it relieves your sore mouth? However, you may still need a root canal even if your tooth stops hurting; the procedure has uses aside from pain relief. Your New Lenox dentist will even explain the details behind this claim. So, here&#8217;s why a root canal could be necessary when you aren&#8217;t in pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pain Isn\u2019t Everything<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A root canal can certainly ease many bad toothaches. However, that doesn\u2019t mean the procedure\u2019s main role is pain relief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Root canals are designed and intended to remove your tooth\u2019s infected pulp. While the latter can irritate dental nerves and cause aches, it doesn\u2019t always do so. Sometimes, an infection will \u201ckill\u201d such nerves and leave your tooth unable to send pain signals to the brain. Pus from the infected area could also flow out and ease some of the nearby pressure. In either case, the lack of pain isn\u2019t a sign that things are improving; bacteria would still be advancing and causing problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Consider Other Treatable Symptoms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>At the same time, a root canal can help with symptoms of tooth infection besides pain. Treatment would be able to ease or reduce signs like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Sensitive Teeth<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Swollen Gums<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Facial Swelling<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Halitosis (i.e., Bad Breath)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Swollen Lymph Nodes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A Persistent Fever<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Should you notice the symptoms above, you should see a dentist quickly. These signs deserve a diagnosis, regardless of whether you get a root canal or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Avoid a Spreading Infection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Even when it doesn\u2019t involve pain, a tooth infection is a severe problem. Failing to treat it with a root canal would only worsen your situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Indeed, the infection would do more than cause pain if left alone. It\u2019ll slowly erode nearby gum and bone tissue as it goes unchecked and cause your tooth to fall out. (After all, pearly whites can\u2019t stay in place if they lack support from your jaw and gums.) The infecting bacteria could then reach other body parts and trigger sepsis \u2013 a condition that can lead to death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Given the points above, you may need a root canal even when a tooth stops hurting. See your dentist as soon as possible to find out for sure!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About the Practice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.atriumfamilydental.com\/\"><em>Atrium Family Dental of New Lenox<\/em><\/a><em> is based in New Lenox, IL. Led by <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.atriumfamilydental.com\/meet-dr-albert.html\"><em>Drs. Albert<\/em><\/a><em>, <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.atriumfamilydental.com\/meet-dr-snow.html\"><em>Snow<\/em><\/a><em>, and <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.atriumfamilydental.com\/meet-dr-feller.html\"><em>Feller<\/em><\/a><em>, our practice offers truly stellar dental care. We always tailor our preventive, cosmetic, and restorative treatments to your smile\u2019s specific needs! To that extent, our team is always ready and able to make your grin strong and gorgeous. For more details or to book a visit, please contact us on <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.atriumfamilydental.com\/contact-us.html\"><em>our website<\/em><\/a><em> or by phone at <strong>(815)-462-9990<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you&#8217;re like most people, the main reason you&#8217;d get a root canal is to ease your toothache. Why bother with this treatment unless it relieves your sore mouth? However, you may still need a root canal even if your tooth stops hurting; the procedure has uses aside from pain relief. Your New Lenox dentist [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Do You Need a Root Canal If Your Tooth Stops Hurting? - Atrium Family Dental Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Even if your tooth stops hurting, you may still need a root canal. Find out why (and other details) with your local New Lenox dentist.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.atriumfamilydental.com\/blog\/2025\/04\/15\/do-you-need-a-root-canal-if-your-tooth-stops-hurting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Do You Need a Root Canal If Your Tooth Stops Hurting? - Atrium Family Dental Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Even if your tooth stops hurting, you may still need a root canal. 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