Best results: 5 ways to care for your oral hygiene post-root canal

Root canal surgery is conducted to save a damaged or infected tooth from removal. Your tooth may have become irreversibly damaged, infected or inflamed but it may not mean the tooth has to be removed, and instead root canal could be the perfect way to fix the tooth.

Root canal surgery has a 95% success rate, making it one of the most effective medical or dental procedures available. However, this doesn’t mean you don’t have to look after your oral hygiene in the root canal’s aftermath.

Here are five ways to practise oral hygiene post-root canal surgery:

1. Rest a bit!

You’ve just undergone a bit of work and probably shouldn’t be rushing off to the gym or the supermarket any moment too soon. Instead, allow yourself some time to rest.

We try to move so quickly in our daily lives that something like root canal surgery should really be the perfect excuse to allow yourself some time to chill and, of course, heal!

It can be anywhere from one to four days (depending on your recovery), but at least give yourself the rest of the day off to relax and prep yourself for the following practises:

2. Brush & floss daily

Okay, we assume you do the former, but not everybody flosses their teeth everyday. Whilst this may not have a disastrous impact on people with previously-healthy teeth, it is highly advised that you floss your teeth after having received root canal surgery.

Why? Because flossing helps remove any bacteria or germs that could potentially inhibit your root canal recovery. Root canal surgery is like any other medical procedure, and requires a clean area to be able to recover properly - this is why it’s important to remove those nasty germs with the aid of daily flossing.

3. Take medications as directed

Root canal is a surgery that can come with post-procedural pain. This is normal, and your dentist may even direct you to pick up some over-the-counter medications to help ease any pain.

You should only take these medications as directed, as even over-the-counter medications can have significant ramifications when abused. The pain may suck - we get it - but it will subside and should definitely subside when taking the directed medication dosage.

4. Watch what you eat

This is a multi-tiered request. Firstly, you don’t want to eat anything sticky like caramel, chocolate or peanut butter - these can really pull on your teeth when they’re supposed to be healing up.

Secondly, you don’t want to eat anything too chewy like steak or particular breads as these will have the same effect (youch!). Finally, you don’t want to eat anything that is very hot or cold as your teeth will still be very sensitive.

Basically, you don’t want to eat anything that’s going to adversely impact your teeth and make you uncomfortable when you’re supposed to be resting up. Avoid the sweets, chewy stuff and temperature-extreme stuff whilst eating plenty of soft, healthy foods and this will aid your recovery period.

5. Check in with your dentist

Your dentist will be able to provide you with ongoing advice as to your recovery process and whether there is anything you could specifically be doing to further protect your teeth in the wake of root canal surgery.

Naturally, your dentist will probably want to have a check up, as this way they can see how your teeth - and especially the affected tooth/teeth - are healing up in the post-surgery period.

This is a great way to gain more helpful, patient-specific advice on how to care for your teeth and hopefully avoid further root canal surgeries!