Can You Drive After A Root Canal? – What Expert Dentists Are Saying?

Tooth care
Written by Ankita Tripathy
January 20, 2023

While a lot of people get their root canal done across the world, the most interesting question that people often ask is always something along the lines of “can you drive after a root canal?”

If you are someone who drives a four-wheeler and is planning to get a root canal, you might be searching for something similar. If you are someone searching for the answer to this question, you have reached the right place.

Keep reading this blog till the end to learn more about the same…

Contents

What Is A Root Canal?

While you must be wondering about the answer to can you drive after a root canal, I would like to first talk a little about what a root canal is in the first place. So here I go!

A root canal is a dental procedure that involves the removal of the pulp of the tooth. This is the soft center of the tooth that mainly consists of nerves, tissues, and capillaries or blood vessels. The pulp of the tooth is essential as it helps it to grow. However, if there is an inflammation or infection in the pulp, it can be difficult to bear the pain.

When there is an inflammation or infection in the pulp, the dentist performs surgery to remove the pulp of that particular tooth. This is what is known as the root canal. In this dental method, the crown or the top part of the tooth is removed temporarily in order to carve out the pulp permanently.

Your dentist will ask you to go for a root canal if the infection is caused due to:

Corroded Tooth
Cavity
Tooth Decay
Cracked Tooth
An Injury That Damaged The Tooth

So, now that you have learned about what a root canal is, let me go ahead and explain the answer to “can you drive after a root canal?”

Answering The question, “Can You Drive After A Root Canal?”

There are a number of things that can happen that might make it absolutely necessary for you to drive your car and travel even after your root canal procedure. However, that is when you often question, “can I drive after a root canal?”

While the procedure of a root canal is relatively simple and does not cause any hurt in other functional body parts, there are reasons for you to think twice before you decide to drive home after a root canal. Keep reading till the end to learn about them…

Is It Safe To Drive Home After Root Canal?

There are a number of reasons why doctors generally advise you not to drive a car immediately after a root canal. And the reasons are pretty simple. There are two things that you need to consider before driving after your dental procedure.

Firstly, while you are driving, you might suddenly feel extreme pain that comes soon after the effects of the anesthesia wear off. If you are someone who does not have very high pain tolerance, you might not be able to drive your car with focus. When you lose focus while driving, it can become dangerous for you as well as for the people around your car.

Secondly, because the entire dental procedure takes time and you have to spend all the hours sitting with your head tilted upwards, you might experience headaches after you are done with the procedure. If you start getting severe headaches, you might not be able to focus on driving the car properly.

And lastly, the procedure of a root canal involves the use of anesthesia. Driving after sedatives and general anesthesia can be extremely dangerous. That is the reason why it is best to ask someone else to drive the car for you till the effects of the sedatives fade away.

How Long Does A Root Canal Take?

Now that you have figured out the answer to “can you drive after a root canal,” you might be wondering about how long it takes to get a root canal done. Well, that is the reason why I have come to your rescue.

The time that it takes for the dentist to help you get rid of the damaged parts of the tooth, or the entire pulp, often differs from person to person. However, generally speaking, the time it takes to get your root canal done can be anywhere from two hours to three hours.

As the entire pulp needs to be carved out and then the parts after the operation have to be disinfected, the entire process of the root canal, from setting up to completion, takes a lot of time. The time also depends on the type of tooth that needs to be operated on.

For example, take a look at this chart right here to learn about the variation in time to get the root canal done:

Tooth	Time
Incisors	Less than 1 hour
Canines	1 hour to 1.5 hours
Premolars	1 hour to 2 hours
Molars	2.5 hours to 3 hours

Bonus: Root Canal Aftercare

Now that you have found the answer to “can you drive after a root canal,” you might be thinking about what to do after getting your root canal done. Before you leave, you might want to take a look at these things that you can do as a part of the aftercare of getting a root canal:

Take Over-The-Counter Medicines like painkillers that your dentist might have prescribed
Eat soft food
Eat more liquids
Eat food that is of room temperature
Contact your doctor if the pain does not go away within two days

Wrapping It Up!

In case you were in search of the answer to “can you drive after a root canal,” I hope that this article has been of help to you. If there is any other way in which I can be of help to you, feel free to write them down in the comment box below.

Don’t forget to share your thoughts regarding this blog by writing in the comment box. If there are any other queries related to the same, write them down and I will be ready with the answers!

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