Can You Get a Root Canal While Wearing Braces, and Does It Delay Your Treatment?

• Dr. Boris Pinhasov, DDS
• July 6, 2026
• 11:00 am

Medically reviewed by Boris Pinhasov, DDS - Board-Certified Orthodontist, ABO Diplomate | 20+ Years Experience | Last Updated: July 2026

Yes. You can safely have a root canal while wearing braces, and in most cases it won't delay your orthodontic treatment. The tooth is treated by your dentist or an endodontist while your orthodontist coordinates the timing, and your braces usually stay right where they are the whole time.

Finding out you might need a root canal partway through orthodontic treatment is unsettling. You've already committed to months of adjustments, and now one tooth is throbbing. Here's the reassuring part: a root canal and braces get along fine, and with a little coordination your plan stays on track. Here's what actually happens.

No. In almost every case your braces stay on. A root canal is done by reaching the tooth through its chewing surface, which sits away from the brackets and wire, so the endodontist can usually work without disturbing your appliance.

Sometimes the archwire crosses the tooth that needs treatment and gets in the way. When that happens, your orthodontist can remove or ease that section of wire before the appointment and put it back afterward. It's a quick, routine step at an adjustment visit, not a reason to take your braces off or restart anything.

Usually not. Your regular adjustment schedule at BP Smiles Orthodontics runs about every four to six weeks, and a root canal typically fits inside that rhythm without pushing anything back. The tooth gets treated, it settles, and your next adjustment goes ahead as planned.

If a tooth needs a short window to calm down afterward, your orthodontist may hold off on applying force to that one tooth for a visit or two while the rest of your teeth keep moving. The braces stay busy. Dr. Boris Pinhasov decides when it's comfortable to re-engage the treated tooth, so any pause is brief and deliberate rather than a real setback.

Your orthodontist and your dentist have different jobs here. A root canal is restorative, endodontic work, so your general dentist or an endodontist performs it, not your orthodontist. At BP Smiles Orthodontics, Dr. Pinhasov focuses on moving your teeth and will refer you to your dentist or a trusted provider for the root canal itself.

Being in orthodontic care when a tooth goes bad actually works in your favor. Orthodontists train as general dentists before they specialize, so Dr. Pinhasov can catch decay or a struggling tooth during your routine adjustments and get you to the right provider early, often before it turns into an emergency. He then coordinates the timing with whoever treats the tooth, so your braces and your root canal follow the same plan.

This is the question most people are really asking, because braces cause soreness too. The two kinds of pain tend to feel different.

Normal adjustment soreness shows up in the day or two after a tightening. It spreads across several teeth at once, feels like a dull ache or tenderness when you bite, and fades within a few days. A tooth in real trouble is different. The pain centers on one specific tooth, throbs on its own, lingers with hot or cold long after the food is gone, and tends to get worse instead of better.

Only an exam can say for sure, so if one tooth keeps hurting between adjustments, treat it as an orthodontic emergency and reach out. Don't wait for your next scheduled visit. Catching an infected or dying tooth early is what keeps a small problem small.

Braces don't cause the need for a root canal on their own. They apply steady pressure to move teeth, and that pressure can reveal or aggravate a problem that was already there: a deep cavity, an old filling, or a tooth that was quietly cracked or traumatized in the past. The tooth was already vulnerable. The movement just brought it to the surface.

On timing, the rule of thumb is to handle a known problem first. If a dentist finds a tooth that already needs a root canal before you start braces, that treatment usually goes first, the same way active gum disease or an untreated infection gets resolved before orthodontic care begins. When the need only shows up mid-treatment, you treat it when it comes up and your braces carry on. Either order works, and your orthodontist and dentist will sort out the sequence together.

BP Smiles Orthodontics is led by Dr. Boris Pinhasov, DDS, a board-certified orthodontist and Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics with more than 20 years of experience treating kids, teens, and adults across Queens. When a tooth needs attention during treatment, he explains exactly what's going on, coordinates the timing with your dentist or endodontist, and keeps your braces moving toward the finish.

That habit of slowing down to explain is what patients tend to mention most.

"He took the time to take photographs and walk me through the reasons I needed fillings, then explained each part of the process along the way."

Jackie Cunningham

"Compared to past dentists I've had he's also definitely the gentlest."

Kiyari Garcia

If you're weighing braces at BP Smiles Orthodontics, or you're already in treatment and one tooth is bothering you, the first visit and consultation are free. Call the office at (718) 290-9444 and the team will walk you through the plan.