I’m are TERRIFIED of going to the dentist. I put off simple cleanings for years because of horrible experiences with dentists as a teen. My adult self knows I’m being ridiculous, but there’s always that part of me that wants to run far, far away from the dentist.
The last few years my rational mind has won over and I’ve become a semi-regular dentist patient. I had my wisdom teeth out about three years ago under sedation, and that was fine. I’ve started having regular cleanings and have just started the work on the rest of my teeth. I am picky about the cleanliness of my teeth (even though I avoided going in for cleanings) and brush 3 times a day, floss once, or more if needed, but still end up with cavities every time I go in.
Anyhow, I made it through the replacement of fillings and a crown about six weeks ago, and knew I had this root canal coming up. I’d already cancelled and rescheduled due to my fear, but today was the day. So, I took two mg of Ativan and we got at it. I was honestly prepared for pain, especially when the pull out the actual roots, but nothing. NOTHING! After about 40 minutes, he told me the root canal was essentially done and we’d move on to the other work in that quadrant of the mouth.
I guess all the horror stories of root canals I’ve heard didn’t apply to my situation, thank goodness.
Now to get myself back there for more filling replacements. :o
Well they don’t pull out the roots, they clean them out with a file and replace them with filling.
Root canals don’t hurt, it’s BEFORE you get one that hurts.
The only part I hate is when they put the putty in your mouth to make the mold. Yech, it doesn’t hurt, just like eating clay.
The only thing I can suggest is if the root canal was a back tooth you may want to consider getting a gold crown. I’ve have nine root canals, and while porcelain crowns, obviously look better, they are much harder on the tooth above/below it.
If you’re chewing on the crown the tooth below/above it is gonna wear down much faster. Gold doesn’t wear it down nearly as much. So if you do use a porcelain crown, on your return maintenence visits to the dentist always have him check the status of the tooth above/below the crown, to make sure if there is any wear or cracks he can fix it right away.
The crown comes in a few months, it’s just filled for now. I think I’ll have to go with a metal of some sort, because I just recently found out that porcelain (which is what my other one is made of) isn’t covered by my plan.
I’ve had three root canals. One hurt quite a bit (apparently I had curved roots or something); the other two were no worse than getting a normal cavity filled. The bad things about root canals are the money they cost!
I am glad for everyone who has only had root canals that were a breeze. I’ve been pretty fortunate overall, but there has definitely been a difference between different endodontists.
My current general dentist is the best number of all the dentists I’ve seen. It matters.
All but four of my teeth have root canals. Some of them didn’t hurt, but some of them hurt like a mother@*(#. See, I have really long roots that grow into my sinus cavity, and that can’t be numbed. Also, hurts a lot afterward.
TMI, Opal. Oooowwww. Can’t they sedate you, like they do with cats and stuff?
I was lucky with my first RC this summer. It was pretty far gone - 25mm, yes, one whole inch - but discomfort was minimal. It’s amazing the way they do all this intricate stuff in such teeny spaces.
And now I have this stuff in my tooth where that nasty dead root crap used to be.
I’ve had some dental work done under sedation before, but the problem is paying for it. In fact the last 2 root canals I had were totally self-pay, so I didn’t even get nitrous. One of those was the worst of my life… about 1/4 inch of it was in my sinus and no amount of novocaine would touch it. I almost tore the arms of the dentist’s chair off I was squeezing them so hard. And you know that high pitched almost scream sound that we females make when something hurts? Yeah lots of that. That one hurt for about 3 weeks afterward, acutely, then for a couple of months off and on in a lesser way. Sinuses take a while to heal.
Ohhh, it’s sore this morning. He warned me it would be bruised and it sure is. Any slight pressure when putting my teeth together and it’s pretty painful. If I touch my cheek it’s painful! Hopefully this goes away soon as it’s near the front and it’s hard to bite in to things. Ugh.
I must have stolid peasant genes, I’ve never had very painful experiences with any dental work. Uncomfortable, tiresome, and expensive, yes! I’m always surprised to read about bad experiences at the dentist and feel lucky the worst part about dentistry, for me, was the toothache that brought me there. The last root canal took about an hour and a half, which was remarkable, as I remember years ago I had to go for several sessions for hours at a time. And I’ve had several extractions, one being ‘put under’ for an hour, but I had someone to drive me home and treat me like a fragile princess. The next couple of extractions, I had neither time nor money to fool around, so - multiple shots of novocaine, yank, pay, and go!
Ohh there it is. I was going to ask about pain after. I had a root canal last year. Felt nothing in the chair but later that day and into the next morning it really hurt. The good news is that, for me, the pain was gone by bedtime on the second day.
The roots in my molars curve at a nearly 90° angle and the dentist couldn’t get anything but my tongue numb. The root canal was more horrifically painful than fracturing my skull, back surgery, elbow surgery, and a severe kidney infection. I ended up having to have the tooth pulled under sedation and I now have an intense fear of the dentist.
I am very happy for anyone who can have a root canal done and only compare it to a long filling session. I wish I were you.
I think I’m kinda like you, in that I used to have a horrifying phobia of the dentist too, probably caused by a horrible incident with a mean dentist when I was about 5. I still used to go, because I needed braces, but I’d lie there screaming and screaming. TBF, having those train-tracks adjusted does hurt quite a bit, but it wasn’t just the pain.
Then one day as an adult I just decided ‘this is stupid’ and now I don’t have a phobia. I never would have thought you could just *decide *not to have a phobia any more.
My daughter (10 at the time) has had a root canal with no painkilling stuff at all but doesn’t even seem to notice anything at all. Don’t think I’ve ever had one myself.
