1. Does root canal treatment hurt? If you have an acute toothache, a root canal will actually help you get rid of it. During the treatment, the dentist will give your tooth a local anesthetic, so you will not usually feel any pain. You may experience mild discomfort or pain for a short period of time after the treatment, which is usually relieved by taking anti-inflammatory or pain medication. 2.What is root canal treatment? The tooth is drilled open, infection and necrosis are removed, flushed, anti-inflammatory, and filled with filling material. The number of follow-up visits varies depending on the inflammation. During root canal treatment, the dentist often asks the affected tooth to take 3 x-rays before, during and after the procedure to help with the diagnosis (to understand the location of the pulp chamber and the number and shape of the root canals, to measure the working length of the root canals and to provide a basis for comparison in future follow-up and evaluation of the treatment effect). 3.After root canal treatment, do I need other treatment? After root canal treatment, the tooth is not nourished by blood vessels and nerves, it becomes brittle and fractured, and the color becomes dark and gray, so it needs to be protected by crown (braces). For teeth that have lost a lot of tissue, “piles” are placed to restore the tooth’s shape, followed by a crown. This restoration method can prevent the tooth from fracturing and prolong the life of the tooth. 4. Is there any alternative treatment to root canal therapy? If the damage to the tooth tissue is too great, or if root canal treatment is not possible for other reasons, extraction of the tooth may be considered. However, it is not recommended here that patients choose to extract the tooth because of cost saving, because the denture restoration after extraction requires more cost. 5. What causes the failure of root canal treatment? It depends not only on the operation of the dentist, but also on the condition of the affected tooth. In fact, in many cases, the roots of the tooth have tiny branches which are almost impossible to clean. But those bacteria and toxic substances remaining in the branches can still cause periapical bone infections. Therefore, long-term follow-up after root canal treatment is an essential part of the treatment process. In addition, root longitudinal fractures or micro-leakage of crown restorations can lead to root canal treatment failure. After root canal failure, apical surgery or extraction can be performed depending on the case.