How to Finance a Root Canal in 2018
No matter how well you take care of your teeth and the health of your entire mouth, there are times where dental issues can arise out of nowhere. Root canals often stem from unforeseen accidents. However, it is important to have the root canal performed, otherwise you run the risk of having infections spread to other nearby teeth, which in turn may end up costing you far more in the long run. If you don’t have the money for a root canal available for a dentist near you, that is perfectly fine. Monarch Dental offers several different payment plans and dental financing. This way, you can have the dental procedure performed while maintaining financial peace of mind.
What is a Root Canal?
A root canal is required when a tooth has died. A tooth dies when the nerve endings within the tooth are killed. There are many causes behind the death of a tooth, but most come from sudden impact. The nerve endings and blood vessels inside of a tooth are also referred to as pulp, so your dentist may say they need to remove the tooth’s pulp, instead of blood vessels and nerve endings. A sudden shock to the tooth can kill the nerve endings within the tooth (this is also one of the many reasons why investing in a quality mouthguard when partaking in physical activities it a must).
The nerve endings stretch from the main body of your tooth down into the roots. During a root canal, a small hole is drilled into your tooth. This happens in the back of your tooth for the front teeth and the top of your tooth for side teeth. With the hold in place, it is possible to remove the dead root canal tissue. It is important to remove the dead nerve endings from the tooth, otherwise the nerves will begin to decay. This not only may rot out your tooth (which means you’d need to have it removed and a bridge or implant installed), but it can spread to nearby teeth, causing infections in both these neighboring teeth and the gemlike.
After all of the nerve endings have been removed, a bleaching agent is injected into the tooth. This helps keep the tooth white and looking alive. The hole is capped off and it will feel like nothing even happened. The tooth will remain healthy as long as you care for it properly. Discoloration down the line may happen, requiring you to have the tooth bleached again from the inside, or it may need a veneer when dealing with a front tooth, but that is more difficult to forecast as any kind of tooth discoloration would not occur for a long period of time.
How Do You Know You Need a Root Canal?
A root canal is not one of those things you automatically know you need. For many, it isn’t obvious such a procedure is required until after seeing the dentist. However, there are some signs that indicate, at the very least, a visit to the Monarch Dental should be scheduled in the very near future.
For starters, serious tooth pain when chewing, or even applying pressure to the tooth is a major give away. It is a far more severe pain than what someone might experience with a cavity. If the gums around the tooth start to swell or become tender, this is another sign. Additionally, if the tooth’s color begins to darken, or if there is an odd pimple that keeps returning to the gums, it is another sign that the tooth has decaying pulp and it is beginning to affect the surrounding gums as well.
What Does the Tooth Feel Like After a Root Canal
Eventually, everything will go back to normal and feel like nothing ever happened. However, after the first few days of a root canal, the area may be a bit sensitive. This is due to inflammation, which is completely natural. Nerves and blood vessels were removed from inside of the tooth, so there will be some kick back from the body’s defense system. It is possible to control this pain with ibuprofen.
It is important to return to normal oral healthcare. This includes brushing and flossing. If additional blood is seen while brushing for the first few days that again is natural as it may cause some bleeding around the inflamed gums. However, this should stop after a few days or so. However, it is important to listen to your dentist with regards to oral healthcare. If you did have a crown or veneer placed, they might have specific instructions regarding brushing and how to care for your tooth.
Are There Any Possible Complications?
Typically no, there are no problems. Your dentist will take x-rays in order to see the extent of the damage and what needs to be done. However, complications may arise if there are more root canals in a given tooth than expected. When this happens it may lead to one of the roots no being cleaned and cleared of the dead pulp. Outside of this, if a hairline crack goes undetected in the roof of the tooth it can lead to some complications, although with x-ray technology, missing such a crack occurs infrequently.
On occasion, you may need to have the seal applied again to your tooth. For some root canals, a crown or veneer is not initially applied. This is because the structural foundation of the tooth is still intact and the internal bleaching of the tooth leaves it looking alive and well. It is impossible to tell how the rest of the tooth will fair over time, although some discoloration may occur. Should you start to notice some discoloration, your dentist will likely provide you with a few options. Realistically the only time this is an issue is if you had a root canal for a front facing tooth. A re-bleaching may be attempted in order to correct the color issue. If this doesn’t work, your dentist will give you a few different options, one of which is the application of a veneer. A veneer is applied without much of an issue. The top layer of the enamel is removed and a mold of your tooth is taken. The veneer is then applied over the current tooth, correcting the color issue while also strengthening the tooth itself.
Is There Any Pain During a Root Canal?
Local anesthesia is applied to the area around the root canal, so you will not feel a thing. In fact, this will help numb the pain you’re currently experiencing from the damaged, infected or dead tooth. By the time the local anesthesia wears off, you won’t have any pain remaining from the tooth itself, although as stated previously, you may have some slight inflammation lingering for a few days
Root Canal Discounts
You don’t go and plan out a root canal. This is something that comes out of nowhere and is a necessary bill you likely didn’t account for. However, it is something that must be done for the betterment of your overall oral health. In order to help pay for the procedure, there are a handful of different options available. First, you need to check out what kind of available dentist discounts are provided through Monarch Dental. There are new discounts going up throughout the year. This currently includes a $100 discount on most dental services, including a root canal. This way, you can cut down a bit on how much you would pay. So, even if you have insurance, this can help with your other out of pocket expenses you might have to pay. Check with your specific Monarch Dental dentist office to find out what kind of discounts are currently available to you.
If you are interested in staying up to date on the latest money saving offers provided by Monarch Dental, you can do that easily as well. The first option is to sign up for emails through the dental office you visit. When taking down your information just provide your email address and check off that you want to receive email updates on current and upcoming offers. However, you can also do this from the comfort of your own home as well. Simply try our dentist near me Zip search tool to select the office you go to. You’ll then be able to enter in your full name, email address and then check off you want to receive the offer updates. Once you submit you’ll be all set and ready to go.
Dental Insurance Coverage
If you have dental insurance, Monarch Dental takes most forms of insurance. If this is your first time out to the dentist office, make sure to contact Monarch and make sure your insurance is accepted. This way, you know what to expect when it comes to paying for the procedure. Each Monarch Dental office is a bit different, so it is necessary to contact the specific dentist office you intend on visiting in order to avoid any possible confusion.
Dental Financing for Root Canals
If you don’t have dental insurance, or if you do and it still leaves you with a potential bill you are not able to cover right at once, there are different options available. Financing and payment plans may be the best course of action as you can break up the payments into smaller chunks. In fact, Monarch Dental provides three different kinds of dental financing payment plans.
The first is a low down payment and no interest. This way, you make an initial payment up front and then pay monthly as you go. If you don’t have money to pay up front that is alright, as there is also a no money down and no interest option. After all, root canals pop up out of nowhere and you may not have the money set away to pay for the sudden dental procedure. Third, if you need a longer payment period, you can select the extended term payment option, which gives you up to 48 months (four years) to pay the loan amount back, with a 14.9 percent promotional interest rate.
You can apply for the financing either directly at your Monarch Dental office, or through the website. This way, you will have a better understanding as to whether or not you’ll have the desired financing ahead of the procedure.
Credit Card Payments
You might not have the available cash to pay for the root canal, but Monarch Dental does accept all major credit cards. This way, if your credit card has a lower interest rate, or if you’d like to build up those airline points for an end of the year vacation, you can do exactly that. Credit cards including Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover are all acceptable forms of payments. If you decide to pay with a debit card, it may be necessary to contact your bank ahead of time. Larger purchases can sometimes flag your account and the bank may block it by default. This is a bank by bank (and account by account basis), so it is worth checking in on if you can.
Affordable Root Canals at a Dentist Near Me
Root canals is a dental procedure millions of people receive every single year. If you are in need of a root canal (which you may not realize until you visit the dentist) there are plenty of financing options available to you. So whether you already have dental insurance and need help offsetting the rest of the price, or you don’t have insurance and want to work with our financing partners, there is a way for you to cover the root canal costs. After all, it is important to have the root canal performed in order to prevent the problem from spreading into your gums and other, surrounding teeth. If you believe you need a root canal, have a dental emergency, or other questions regarding dental services offered, make sure to reach out and contact Monarch Dental today.