The main reasons for carrying out root canal treatment are:

• Extensive decay has gone into the nerve of the tooth
• The nerve has become infected.
• Where your nerve inside the root dies because of a heavy filling or a crown over the tooth.

If not all the infection was removed then that can cause continuing pain from your tooth. The pain may be continuous or it may only occur episodically. We will look at your X-rays before and after and can judge if perhaps the root canal treatment was carried out to the poor standard and there was a chance that infection was not fully cleaned out.

Another pitfall of root canal treatment is where there is instrument fracture. This refers to when the dentist is cleaning out the infection from your tooth using fine instruments; it can happen that the instruments can break inside the roots. If it does happen, the dentist should tell you about it and also advise on what you should be doing next. Another problem is that an instrument can perforate the root. Again this will be evident from x-rays.

We also look to see whether the root canal treatment was in fact the correct treatment for you or you should have been advised of an alternative treatment. The consent process for root canal treatment is very important and dentists will give adequate consent both verbally and sometimes in writing.

If you have had a root canal treatment done in the last 3 years or you have problems with your root canal work, then we can have a look at it.

If you end up having an extraction, the dentist can compensate you so that you can have a replacement tooth instead such as a bridge or an implant.

If possible, you can receive a replacement root canal treatment to a better standard from a specialist.  In addition to the claim, there could be other costs which you may get awarded and these are known as other general damages and special damages,

Reasons for this include a root that is still infected. It is foreseeable that although the root canal has been cleaned that some infection still remain inside.

Also, it can be that the filling or the crown has been built up too high and the directly opposite tooth comes down first before any of the other teeth. This can irritate the tooth and can cause pain.

You can still have infection remaining in the bone which is immediately around the apex of your tooth and is known as a periapical periodontitis.

Dentists use the chemical sodium hydrochlorite to disinfect the root canal.  However if too much is used, it can leak out past the root and cause severe irritation.

A common reason for pain after root canal treatment is when part of the root canal has been left behind without being fully disinfected. This infection gets worse and then causes pain.

During the filling of the root canal it can happen that the material used to seal, extrudes into the jaw bone. This causes irritation and pain. 

With the majority of teeth which have had a root canal treatment carried out to them, you will notice fairly immediate improvement and certainly within one to two days of after having the treatment carried out. In about 20% of cases the tooth will be vastly improved, but still slightly tender over the next four weeks. If after four weeks you are still getting pain then you should go back to see your dentist who may do an x-ray.

If the root canal treatment has been carried out recently, it could be that the filling that is placed over the root canal is too high when you bite down. This then irritates the tooth because the other teeth aren’t meeting properly and you are putting all the force on just one tooth. Another reason for pain when you bite down is if there is residual infection inside the roots of the tooth even after treatment. To find out the exact reason, your dentist will examine the tooth and will take a new x-ray.