How long can you wait between root canal appointments

Published on January 05, 2020

If you’re in serious pain and a root canal is called for, you’ll need a first visit to get the pain sorted. After that the next two appointments will deal with the infected matter causing all that pain, and finally the root canal will be sealed off ready for a crown. Read on for why a root canal treatment may be needed and what you need to watch out for.

How many visits does it take for Root Canal Treatment?

You can expect two or three visits for an endodontic treatment, better known as a root canal. Your first appointment works on fixing the pain you probably have, and that shouldn’t take too long. Once that’s settled, your next appointments will treat the root canal. When the root canal work has been completed you will probably need a crown for the tooth, so that will be extra appointments. Your dentist will discuss what your particular treatment will involve during your first examination.

Some root canals are particularly narrow or tricky to access, so you may have to see an endodontic specialist – your dentist will arrange this for you.

You may require a Root Canal

If you’re in pain because the dental pulp inside your tooth is infected, you will need a root canal to remove the infection and hopefully save the tooth.

The dental pulp is soft internal tissue and nerves and goes down into the roots of your tooth. It can become inflamed due to a crack or a cavity and you may at first feel sensitivity, and a tenderness when chewing on the tooth. But once the inflammation increases and an infection begins, the pain can be intense. If it’s left to continue an abscess will probably form and this could infect and damage your jaw as well.

Root Canal Treatment can be painful

Anaesthetic is used to numb the tooth to be treated, so the only pain is the light sting of the injection. After that, your tooth will be prepped so that the canals can be cleaned of all the infected matter. Next the canals are dried, treated with medication to heal them and sealed off to protect them during healing. Anti-inflammatory tablets will help reduce discomfort after the treatment.

At your next appointment another local anaesthetic will be used so that the canals can be opened and filled with a special material to retain their structure. Finally they’re permanently sealed and a crown can protect the tooth from damage.

Root Canal timeline

Provided you are meticulous with your oral hygiene and have regular checkups, your root canal can last for many years. Your dentist may also want to check for ongoing infection in or around the tooth with X-rays.

If you’re unsure you’re up to date with the best oral hygiene techniques, ask your dentist to show you the best way to clean your teeth.

Whether or not you’ve had root canal therapy, if you have any pain or sensitivity in your mouth, get it checked out straight away. It may not be anything serious, but it’s always best to check it out quickly. Book Online today!

I had to have two appointments for my root canal treatment because my infection was a little serious. I just had my first round, but the only time that they could schedule me for my second appointment was at the end of the month. Is that a safe period of time to wait for my second appointment?

25 Answers

yes if you are on an antibiotic

Yes. That is a safe period of time as long as you follow the instructions of the treating doctor.

One or two weeks is fine. If you have to wait much longer, maybe the office is too busy for you. Sometimes, calcium hydroxide therapy is utilized and it takes up to one month to work before last visit when root canal therapy is completed.

You should be okay, but don't screw around with root canals. If you wait too long, you will get a new meaning for pain.

It's up to the doctor. It will be longer if an infection was present.

MDSDDS

Henry Buhl Dentist Chattanooga, Tennessee

This is a very good question. The first appointment was to remove the infected nerve and seal in a medication that would kill the tags of tissue left as the nerve was removed. This period of time takes about 2 weeks sometimes three up to 4 and your next appointment will be to mechanically improve where the nerve used to reside and seal the tooth. Then you'll be referred back to your family dentist for the permanent restoration.

RCT treatment should be at least every week to clean and medicate the canal to fight off infection in the canal. You can wait one month, but it's better to have treatment more frequently.

Yes, that is fine, but should you develop any symptoms, let your dentist know as soon as possible.

Hope that helps.

Chun-I Lee Dentist Cape Town, Western Cape

Good day,

Ideally, the second visit should be within two weeks, however as long as you don't have any pain or discomfort, it should be fine. After the root canal treatment, you might feel a bit discomforts for a day or two, that's normal, but if the discomfort last for a week, you should contact your dentist to let him/her know.

Kind regards,

Dr. Chun-I Lee

We routinely wait 2 weeks to 1 month between endo appts...but waiting a little longer is completely ok. You should be fine!

Hi,

I hope you are feeling better after the first session. Usually, when a tooth has an infection, some dentists like to wait between 1 to 3 weeks before finishing it. They usually place an intra-tooth medicament which kills the bacteria between the canal system so that the tooth will be sterile before the dentist completes the root canal treatment. To answer your question, you should be ok with the wait. Just make sure you make it to the appointment.

Feel better.

Michael Landy Dentist Washington, District of Columbia

Even if the endodontist indicated that a second appointment was necessary we can still be fairly certain that all the infectious tissue has been removed and the second visit was just to do a final seal the tooth canals. So it should be okay to wait for a few weeks to proceed. If however, any swelling or pain should return, call the doctor to get more antibiotic.

That should be a safe period. The main thing to look out for is that you avoid eating on the tooth as it may break or you could lose the temporary filling.

Yes, it is okay to wait that long if the dentist has the judgement to wait for 2-3 weeks between 2 appointments.

Yes, as long as the tooth is properly temporized and the infection is under control with either an antibiotic and/or some sort of medicinal cotton pellet plugged in the tooth such as formecresol.

As long as you don't lose the temporary filling, 1-4 weeks should be fine. If the tooth starts to bother you before the second appointment, I would give the office a call.

If a root canal therapy cannot be completed in one visit there can be different reasons and length of time before reappoint can very with each reason. with standard root canal therapy time of treatment may require more visit. excessive inflamation may require a second visit. excessive infection may require more than one visit to control and complete treatment. There is no set amount of time to wait for any of these scenarios. Usually two weeks will be enough time for reappoint but depends on the clinician and the case. As long as the patient is careful to follow post op instructions and avoid eating on the tooth,finish treatment with in one to two months should be fine. Dr. Grimm

If the reason for the 2-step root canal therapy was that the 1st step was to clean out the infected canals and place some medicine into them (and allow it to kill any residual germs hiding inside), then that is a fairly routine procedure. As long as the tooth was sealed properly between appointments 1 and 2, then it should be fine for a few days to weeks. However, if you start feeling pain or swelling in the interim, contact your dentist immediately and let him/her know about the change in symptoms. Hope this helps, and your root canal therapy resolves without problems.

Usually, our endodontist finishes the cases in one visit.

  Sincerely,

Richard J. Staller, D.D.S.

There are no rules, but there is a risk that the infection and pain can come back, as the treatment is not complete. If your dentist is booked up, then try to google for an endodontist. They are experts in root treatments and usually are completed in one sitting. This is the best option in giving your tooth the best prognosis for success. The cost is usually about £300 to £700 depending on which tooth.

As long as your infection is now under control, there is no magic time period that needs to be met for the next appointment. We usually wait a minimum of 7-10 days, and not longer than necessary beyond that. Waiting for months is not recommended.

Yes, a few weeks between appointments is normal.

David M. Kaffey, DDS

You should be ok. The only issue here is the leakage of the temporary filling that placed after initiation of the RCT.

It totally will depend on how your dentist or root canal specialist feels about it.

Usually we wait about 1-2 weeks for infection to clear

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