Who's had a root canal?

[RoxMonster]

I had been having pain in my front tooth and surrounding gums, so I went in today and I have an infection. The dentist isn't convinced it's caused by the tooth, so I'm on abx and a medicated mouth wash for a week. If it was just a gum infection, then that's it, but if in fact the tooth is dead, I will need a root canal.

He was like "That's worst case scenario and I'm not convinced that will happen so don't worry!" But I'm freaking out because I'm a huge baby about pain and especially dental work.

So if you've had one, how awful was it? Do you need to see an oral surgeon for it? I want to start prepping myself now.

[megkat]

I went to an endodontist for mine. I am PETRIFIED of dental work, and it was honestly no big deal. The worst part was having to keep my moth open for so long, but I honestly didn't feel a thing during the actual procedure. The tooth itself was sore after, and I definitely stuck to a liquid/very soft food diet for a few days but I never needed anything stronger than ibuprofen for the pain

[sent]

An endodontist is a root canal specialist. They get people out of pain all day. They are good. Have your dentist refer you to the most gentle one he/she knows.

[mich1]

I had one on my front tooth last summer. I didn't think it was bad, I expected much worse. My mouth was tender after, easily dealt with a couple doses of ibuprofen.

You'll want to see an endodontist as a specialist for root canals, not an oral surgeon.. My general dentist did mine.

[supertrooper1]

I have major dental fear and I've had 3 root canals. The worst part for me was the numbing before hand. The root canal wasn't that bad and the recovery wasn't too bad either. My first one was 10 years ago and I think technology has gotten better so the last one was pretty simple. My regular dentist did 2 and because one of them didn't work the first time, I had to go to an oral surgeon to have one redone. But having the root canal not work is very rare. Having a wisdom tooth pulled was 10x worse, IMO. I've driven myself home after everything. I always take the rest of the day off, but just because I always feel sick to my stomach after dental work, even cleanings.

[Captain Catnip]

Nov 14, 2017 12:08:51 GMT -5 mich1 said:

I had one on my front tooth last summer. I didn't think it was bad, I expected much worse. My mouth was tender after, easily dealt with a couple doses of ibuprofen.

You'll want to see an endodontist as a specialist for root canals, not an oral surgeon.. My general dentist did mine.

Yep this is what I did. I watched the entire root canal on a monitor, too, and that was cool. The worst part was the novacaine injection.

[carmenere]

When I was in high school I had a root canal on one of my back teeth. It didn't hurt but it was a big ordeal, had to go to an endodontist and have a crown and a few years ago I had to get the crown replaced. Earlier this year I had a root canal on one of my front teeth because there was a cavity that was too close to the root. My regular dentist did it and it was quick and painless.

All that to say that it varies based on what tooth and how bad it is. I would ask your dentist to talk you through that scenario even if he thinks it's unlikely.

[orangello]

My endodontist ROCKED. My tooth was so painful and sensitive, and an hour later, she was out of there and I was relatively pain free, just a little sore for the day.

I had to get a crown on my tooth afterward, and that was worse than the root canal, honestly - I was at the dentist for most of the afternoon.

[janegold]

I had one years ago. It was also done by an endodontist. It didn't hurt but it was a bit unpleasant (lots of ramming and digging and drilling...probably just more my imagination than anything).

[balletofangels]

Not bad at all. The worst part was paying the bill!

[lessel]

In my experience it’s worse for a front tooth than a back tooth. I had to have one on a front tooth that I broke while mowing the lawn (long story). Maybe it was because it was trauma vs infection, but it was worse. The crown process was worse too and it took forever for my bite to settle—had to get the crown adjusted several times. Mostly the pain was during procedures, not much pain afterward.

All that said, it’s fixed and it looks totally fine and there is zero lingering pain.

[ginap]

I went to an endodontist as well and was petrified before hand. He gave me prescription for Xanax for the night before and morning of which helped a lot. I also tend to metabolize Novocaine really quickly so I let him know that and told him to pretend I was a 7' tall, 400 lb man and administer Novocaine accordingly. I felt nothing but my mouth was pretty torn up for a few days but nothing terribly painful.

[yentl]

I'm almost afraid to answer you so I'll just preface this by saying I don't think I had a typical experience. This was when I learned I don't react to novacaine in the typical fashion. I could feel a lot of the procedure and it was pretty terrible. Halfway through they gave me extra strength novacaine and then it was fine. I was sore after, but they prescribed good painkillers and it didn't last very long. I did go to an Endodontist.

I'm sure your experience will be better than mine!

[mrssandro]

I had to have one about 6 months ago. They numbed up pretty dang good. I had to have a crown because I had cavity that ran deep so a root canal was necessary. I mean it was not worse than natural child birth or anything. It was just very uncomfortable and seemed to go on forever. They gave me good pain meds and antibiotics (which I did not end up needing) and I got my temporary crown that same day. Took a few weeks for me to feel normal again but overall the experience made me never want to do it again and really pay close attention to dental health.

[Jalapeñomel]

The pain from the infection hurt way worse then the actual root canal.

[circa1978]

I also went to an endodontist and it was seriously easy. No pain at all. (ETA: Mine was on my front tooth. I think a lot of this is dependent on your reaction to pain meds and the skill of the doctor.)

[bunnies]

Nov 14, 2017 12:06:41 GMT -5 megkat said:

I went to an endodontist for mine. I am PETRIFIED of dental work, and it was honestly no big deal. The worst part was having to keep my mouth open for so long, but I honestly didn't feel a thing during the actual procedure. 

Yep, same for me!

[RoxMonster]

Ok thanks for the experiences. Mine is a front tooth. I absolutely couldn't watch it happening--that would make me seriously sick to my stomach. Hoping if I need this done they'd let me wear something over my eyes and listen to earbuds during. I have had some dental work done when younger like baby teeth pulled etc and the less I hear/see, the better I am.

[Crystal]

I won't say how many I've had (more than I care to share!), but the pain before the root canal is worse than the pain after. It's really no worse than a regular filling - the worst part is the taste of the stuff they use to make the tooth mold. Just ask for nitrous and you'll be okay! Hope it's not necessary, but if it is, good luck!

[vanlatte]

I had root canals on two of my front teeth (due to trauma, not infection) and it was extremely painful. But other root canals I've had have been NBD. Ibuprofen helps a lot if you have any post endo pain.

[orval]

I had an infection in my tooth last summer. The pain was unreal. It was sweet relief to go to the endodontist. I got six shots of Novocaine. Fell asleep during the actual procedure. It is actually the best dental experience I have ever had!

[pinkyp]

Honestly I thought it was better than having a cavity filled. Mine was in a top molar and the nerve was already dead when I went in. It was a relief not to have to worry about "breakthrough" pain.

Also, don't be afraid to request a Valium beforehand if you're able. I was really anxious and it helped a lot.

[lexxasaurus]

I had so many people tell me how awful they were, and how horrible the pain was, and I really didn't think it was that bad. Getting the temporary crown was far more annoying until they could put the permanent one on.

[christy082]

I had one for an abscessed tooth. It was no big deal. Some dentists do them but mine didn't and I saw an endodontist.

[panicfoot]

A good endodontist is essential! Do not let a dentist do it! Of the five I’ve had, they were all terrible experiences but all of those were dentists. The last one was an endotontist and it was Awesome! She had a TV right in front of my face with headphones and took a long time making sure I was totally numb.

Hopefully it’s just the gums!