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Root Canal Treatment And 5 Common Misconceptions

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Dr Joanne Lam

February 17th, 2017· 5 min read

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I just want to be prepared...

So root canal treatment is usually associated with all things scary. Luckily, most horror stories are exactly just that – a story! I’m here to bust the most common myths in Singapore about root canal treatment.

But first, let’s cover what root canal treatment is and why you might need one. Bear with me!

If you are seeking a dentist in Singapore for root canal treatment, this other post shares in more detail all about the costs involved for root canal treatment.

Your tooth has three layers:

  • The outmost layer is the enamel – this is the hardest substance in your body and is white in appearance (remember when we explained how you may accidentally erode this layer during DIY teeth whitening treatment?)
  • The dentine is under the enamel and has lots of tiny tubes leading to the pulp.
  • The pulp is the innermost portion of the tooth, and extends all the way down. This is made up of blood vessels and nerves.

root canal

When your tooth's pulp becomes infected or inflamed, root canal treatment is required to remove the infected tissue. Pulp can become infected due to a number of reasons:

  • Deep decay
  • Large fillings involving the pulp
  • Trauma to the tooth
  • Cracked /fractured teeth
  • Severe gum disease
  • Heavily worn-out teeth

root canal treatment

Root canal treatment involves the removal of infected tissues with special instruments.

Here's the badass process in it's entirety:

  • Your dentist will place a protective sheet over your tooth.
  • A small opening is made in the tooth surface, and tiny files are used to clean infected tissue.
  • We then "wash" the canals with an anti-bacterial solution to prevent further infection.
  • The root canal is filled and sealed with a rubber-like material.
  • After your root canal treatment, a crown is typically needed to provide protection from re-infection, and to protect the tooth from breaking.

Phew – if I've still got your attention, it's time to address those pesky myths about root canal treatment that I often hear from patients in Singapore.

1. “Oh my gosh, my friends told me that root canal treatment is like suuuper painful.”

You’re not alone! This is the most common misconception that everyone believes.

Root canal treatment actually helps to relieve any pain by removing the infected tissue! This is all done with topical anaesthetic agents that numb your tooth and surrounding gums.

For the first few days after treatment, your tooth may feel a little sensitive, especially if there was a lot of pain or infection before the procedure - but this will definitely disappear with time.

2. “My infected tooth isn’t painful at all! Can I just leave it please?”

bad teeth root canal treatment

Please don’t leave it! The surrounding tissues can become infected, and also the longer you leave it, the less the success rate of saving your tooth.

If you've noticed that your tooth is discoloured or greyish in appearance, or you've discovered a little pimple on your gum, then you definitely need to visit your dentist.

Ignoring these signs will probably result in more pain, swelling, and even loss of the surrounding bone of the tooth!

3. “I've read that root canal treatment won’t work anyway, why not just save some money and pull the tooth out?”

tooth extraction root canal treatment

The success rate of root canal treatment is between 85-94% and will last for many years, if not for life.

Removing the painful tooth will certainly relieve the pain, but it’s important to remember that there is no like-for-like replacement for your own tooth.

Any tooth replacement has its own considerations, which we’ll cover another time.

4. “Root canal treatment takes ages and is really expensive.”

root canal treatment cost

Unfortunately, this one is a half-truth. Sometimes long and multiple visits are required for us to remove all the infected tissue. Root canals are intricate little things so can take some time to treat properly.

In Singapore, root canal treatment costs between $500 - 1500, depending on the tooth and the dentist.

5. “I’ve heard that root canal treatment can cause illness in other parts of the body.”

root canal treatment myth

This is a laughing horse. He's probably laughing at Dr Price.

There's no scientific evidence whatsoever supporting these claims. This misinformation that root canal treatment causes other disease stemmed from discredited research conducted over a 100 years ago by Dr Weston Price.

Dr Price advocated tooth extraction over root canal treatment, based on his flawed research. This resulted in a frightening era of tooth extraction for unwitting patients.


For other dentistry myths, check out this article on the most common teeth whitening misconceptions in Singapore.

Dr Joanne Lam was born and raised in England. She's enthusiastic about promoting good oral hygiene as a first step towards creating a confident smile. Aside from dentistry, Dr Joanne loves outdoors jogging, skiing, hiking and exploring.


I hope that you've found this guide useful, and perhaps gained more insight into the application process. Most of the admissions-related information (admin and logistics wise) can be found on the official NUS Faculty of Dentistry website.

To help yourself out, you should take note of what people look for when they look for a dentist.

This article was written by Dr Joanne Lam and published on Wednesday, 25 January 2017. Human medically reviewed the article on Wednesday, 25 January 2017. The last update was made on Friday, 18 September 2020.

Disclaimer: Opinions belong to the author and not to the platform.

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