Will a root canal-treated tooth hurt after bleaching?

Question

Hello doctor,

I had a root canal on my front tooth about seven years ago, it had to be redone about a month ago. Yesterday, I had an appointment for internal bleaching. The procedure did not hurt at all. But today, I have a feeling of pressure in the tooth that even goes up to the bridge of the nose and shooting sharp pains in the tooth itself once in a while which reminds me of nerve pain which makes no sense since the tooth is dead. Is that normal? Why does it hurt if the tooth is dead?

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

To begin with, it is true that once a root canal procedure is performed on a tooth, it loses its vitality and no longer has nerve supply. However, after internal bleaching sometimes patients do tend to experience pain in other teeth which subsides spontaneously in 48 hours.

The pain could be referred from the adjacent tooth, or there may be a residual infection in the root canal treated tooth, which may have triggered the pain after the discharge of the bleaching agent. Discharge of the bleaching agent is an important aspect that causes pain in most cases. I would have liked to see an x-ray along with your query, which would have given me better insights to evaluate your tooth.

As I understand, it has still been less than 48 hours since your bleaching session. I would advise you to wait and watch and give it time. Pain is not uncommon after bleaching but if it persists continuously after 48 hours, it needs to be evaluated. As for now, just avoid extreme hot and cold food and avoid giving any pressure to the tooth.

Hope I have clarified your query.

Thank you.