Root Canal Aftercare
For: Root Canals, After Endodontic Treatment
Stage: After root canal treatment, until and after your final crown or filling
How to protect a tooth after root canal treatment, and why the final crown or filling matters. Mild tenderness for a few days is common.
Questions about your recovery? Call the office where you were treated.
The Most Important Things to Do
- Wait until the numbness wears off before eating, so you do not bite your cheek or tongue.
- Do not chew on the treated tooth until your final crown or filling is in place. It is more fragile until then.
- Protect the temporary filling. Avoid sticky and hard foods on that side.
- Return for your final crown or filling as scheduled. A tooth left with only a temporary filling can break or become reinfected.
When to Call Us
- Pain that gets stronger after the first few days, or that pain medicine does not control.
- Swelling of the gum or face.
- The temporary filling falls out, or most of it wears away.
- Your bite feels high or uneven once the numbness is gone.
- Symptoms that go away and then come back.
- A rash, itching or other reaction after taking a medicine.
If you have trouble breathing or swallowing, or swelling that spreads toward your eye or down your neck, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
What Is Normal Today
- Numbness for a few hours after the visit.
- Tenderness of the tooth and gum for a few days, especially when you bite.
- A sore jaw from keeping your mouth open during treatment.
- A temporary filling that feels slightly rough or different to your tongue.
Eating & Drinking
- Choose softer foods and chew on the other side for the first few days.
- Until the final crown or filling is placed, avoid sticky foods such as caramel and gum, and hard foods such as nuts and ice, on the treated side.
Cleaning & Activity
- Brush and floss as usual, gently around the treated tooth.
- When flossing next to the temporary filling, slide the floss out to the side instead of pulling it back up, so it does not catch the temporary.
Medication
- Take pain medicine exactly as directed at your visit, whether it was prescribed or over the counter.
- If you were prescribed an antibiotic, take every dose until it is finished, even if you feel fine.
- Do not drink alcohol while taking prescription pain medicine.
Where anything here differs from what you were told at your visit, follow the specific instructions you were given at your visit.
Swelling & Discomfort
- Tenderness should ease a little each day and usually settles within a few days.
- A cold pack on the cheek can help if the area feels sore.
Follow-Up Visits
- Your next visit places the final crown or filling that protects the tooth long term. Book it if it is not already scheduled.
- We check the tooth at later visits to make sure it has healed well.
Last revised
Questions about your recovery? Call the office where you were treated.