Root canal treatment removes inflamed or infected tissue from inside the tooth and seals that space. The ligament around the root can be sore afterward because the tooth was instrumented and the bite may meet it. Mild tenderness to chewing for a few days is a familiar course. It is not a promise, and it is not a calendar you should ignore if the direction changes.
Call if swelling increases, if you feel feverish, if pain wakes you and is worsening, or if the tooth suddenly feels much higher than the others. A high bite after root canal treatment is a common and correctable reason for pain. It is also easy to confuse with a crack or a missed canal. The tooth needs to be seen rather than medicated from a leftover prescription.
The root canal treats the inside of the tooth. It does not close a missing wall, and it does not bind a crack together. Many of these teeth need a timely seal and, when a cusp is weak, a covering restoration so the tooth does not fracture later. Pain that continues after an otherwise completed treatment can mean a high bite, a canal that was not found, a crack, or a tooth that cannot be kept. Those possibilities are sorted by examination, not by repeating the same advice to wait.
If the tooth was treated somewhere else, bring the report or the radiograph if you have them, and say how the pain has changed since the day of treatment. The next visit is an evaluation. It is not automatically a retreat, and it is not automatically reassurance.
