Is it safe to take amoxicillin after root canal procedure?
We always have a perception that if there is an infection, or even to prevent one, doctors would automatically prescribe antibiotics. How did we get this thinking that we should, for example, take amoxicillin after a root canal procedure?
Root canal procedure is needed when you experience pain from decaying tooth. You can visit this dental clinic, root canal treatment cost by this dentist in Ryde, NSW is affordable and the procedure is safe and effective. Pain after the root canal is normal. But is it safe taking antibiotics such as amoxicillin after the procedure?
Why do we get prescribed antibiotics more frequently?
We think it works. When you feel pain and you associate it with infection, your dentist or doctor prescribes antibiotics, like amoxicillin, to fight the bacteria that caused the infection. Don’t get us wrong, the relief you are feeling may be partly because of the drug, but actually, there is what we call placebo effect or a psychological mindset that you feel better now that you took the drug. Your pain may be intolerable before drinking the medicine, but since you took them, your head now tells you that you are getting cured, so the pain somehow goes away as well.
It is a habit. Patients and some endodontists or dentists specializing in root canal procedures see getting and giving a prescription for an antibiotic a norm. Even before making sure that they really have dental problems, at the initial sign of pain, patients immediately request for an antibiotic. And since dentists are expected to prescribe them and they are usually deemed useless or incapable if they refuse to give the ‘correct’ prescription, they are obliged to do so.
Not giving antibiotic prescription can be a lawsuit against the dentist. For example, a patient presents himself as a candidate for a root canal procedure. After the procedure, if he encountered a problem and was not prescribed with an antibiotic, the dentist will be deemed guilty for neglecting the safety of the patient. However, if 
the patient develops an infection despite being given a prescription of amoxicillin after a root canal, then it is thought to be the patient’s negligence and incapacity to follow the dentist’s orders.
We are not saying that taking antibiotics is bad and unnecessary. What we are trying to point out is the fact that everything should be in moderation and should be taken with a proper basis. If your dentist believes that you do not need to take antibiotics yet, follow his advice. His assessment is far better than yours since he honed it through his years of experience and expertise.
Please visit your local dentist if you need some emergency help with your root canal.
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