AboutFrederick R. Liewehr DDS, MS, FICD Expertise I can answer your questions about root canal therapy in general. PLEASE DO NOT ask me to diagnose your particular problems or recommend treatment as I cannot do this without examining you and seeing your x-rays.
Experience I am a Board-certified endodontist, former university department Chairman, teach dental residents, and have a private practice.
I'm wondering, for patients who have an infection prior to the root canal, after the root canal procedure, is it a MUST for the patients to have antibiotics in order to truly fight the infection, or can the body alone take care of that? This is for people who have already had the infection on the bone prior to the procedure and needs the procedure to cut off the source. But I'm wondering if these cases, antibiotics really is a must.
Finally, if a root canal was done successfully, is it possible for the infection on the bone to not heal properly? Or if the root canal was successful, it will heal the infection no matter what?
Thanks!
Answer No. Antibiotics are only indicated when there are systemic signs and symptoms, e.g. fever, malaise, increasing swelling in a dangerous area, etc. This is a sign that the body cannot cope with the bacterial insult. Antibiotics are greatly overused. The root canal procedure should eliminate the source of the problem, and the immune system will take care of the rest.
If the bacteria from the infected root canal have formed a biofilm on the outside of the root, or if root anatomy precludes the elimination of all the bacteria (say one has an apical delta, or otherwise cannot be instrumented to patency), then surgery may be necessary to address that issue.
