Root canal isn't that bad!

Root canal isn't as unpleasant as people think when compared to other dental procedures.

Self-reporting of dental health by patients revealed that they find the procedure no worse than other dental work which overturns the popular belief that root canal work is the most unpleasant dental treatment.

The study published in the 'Journal of Endodontics' collected information from randomly selected 1069 Australian people aged 30-61 through questionnaires, dental records and treatment receipts in 2009. Their self-rated dental health score was checked when they had their dental work and two years later.

"Patients who had root canal work reported similar oral health-related quality of life as people who had other types of dental work," said Dr Tallan Chew, the author of the study.

"The effect of root canal work on patients' oral health-related quality of life was compared to other kinds of dental work such as tooth extraction, restoration of teeth, repairs to the teeth or gum treatment, preventative treatment and cleaning," Dr Chew added.

"There is a growing interest in the dental profession to better understand the effect and impact oral diseases and their associated treatment, such as root canal work, have on patients' quality of life," said Professor Giampiero Rossi-Fedele, co-author of the study.

"Patient-reported treatment outcomes are now the principle driving force behind treatment needs, as opposed to clinician-based treatment outcomes."

"With this change in emphasis, the perspectives of patients and their relatives are important factors in identifying the need for treatment, treatment planning, and determining outcomes from any health care intervention as part of shared decision making," said Professor Rossi-Fedele.