The first root canal I had done went just you describe. The dentist (and this was a regular general dentist) says you’ll feel a little sting. Than HOLY FUCKING FRIJOLES! The pain was indescribable. Since than I’ve had several more done by endodontists, and although they might be a tad bit uncomfortable, I’ve never suffered the excruciating pain of that first one.
Lucky you, and I mean that sincerely. I still get a little shaky when I recall that root canal from hell, and it’s been several years now.
Not to pick on you, but spoken like someone who has never had one. I’ve had two, both for broken teeth. First of all, they take hours. HOURS, with your mouth jacked open. No filling ever takes a fraction of that time. My jaw muscles were sore for days after the last one, which was on my second to last molar. This does not include whatever pain might be caused by having someone digging out the nerves in your tooth, which despite whatever painkiller they give you or whatever propaganda they spout, yes, you can still feel, and smell. I literally went to my happy place to deal with it.
That last root canal should have inspired a Pit thread when it happened. The filling broke because of my nighttime jaw clenching, so the dentist went to refill it, but hit the pulp without realizing it. Then she put a filling over the ruptured pulp. It was horribly painful for days. When I went back in, I had to beg the dentist to take out the filling because he said it “looked like nothing was wrong.” Well, when the filling came out, the swollen pulp expanded like it was trying to do within the tooth. I guess it was quite messy, since the dentist seems pretty concerned. However, emergency temporary root canal are 4 words you do NOT want to hear. That took 2 hours. The real root canal with the endodontist took 4 hours. That’s 6 hours of dental procedure, and the whole time you’re thinking, “Is it safe?”
I am happy to say that they did not charge me for the original filling (ha!) but credited it towards the root canal. Also, it does not hurt anymore, so it was a success.
I’m so glad that I otherwise have good teeth, and haven’t had a cavity in over 20 years, because I hope I never, ever have to go through a procedure like that again.
Not really. I had a root canal two years ago and it was nothing. Lots of time with my mouth open, sure - four sittings of about an hour each (two sittings for the root canal and two for the crown). But I didn’t feel a single thing, and the crown feels just like my tooth did.
I’m sure that there’s some variation based on your mouth and your dentist (I went straight to an oral surgeon, which may have helped), but I’m certainly not alone - the guy who sits next to me at work just had a nonevent root canal, as did a good friend of mine. I might dismiss my experience and that of my friend, since we both have highish pain tolerances, but my coworker is as nervous and pain-shy as they come, and he said it was nothing.
I’m not trying to dismiss your experience, either, but for many people a root canal is indeed like a filling.
Don’t you find the mere fact of having to sit in the dentist’s chair for 4-6 hours makes it much different (and worse) than a filling? Fillings, IIRC, take much less time than that. Having your mouth stuck open for that long would suck even if your nerves weren’t being pulled out.
I also made the mistake of watching him take one of the nerves out. It looked like an alfalfa sprout and damn near made me sick, looking at it.
I’ve never had to sit in a dentist’s chair for even 4 hours straight. Never. Had 2 root canals. Neither hurt. Your experience is not universal. And mine were many years ago, I’d assume that techniques have improved.
Well, I only spent an hour in the chair each time, and the visits were spaced out over about 6 weeks, so it didn’t make me sore or anything. (Although I do get stressed in advance about the novocain shots - every time, I stress out about them hurting, and every time, they don’t hurt. You would think I would learn.) I can’t directly compare to fillings, because I’ve never had one of those.
To clarify, I spent a total of four hours in the dentists chair, in four visits of an hour each, over the course of six weeks, and two of those visits were for the root canal, two for the crown.
To the OP: I would definitely call your dentist; the pain is supposed to stop after the root canal - that’s sort of the point of removing the nerve.
I wonder why yours was spaced out like that, which seems like it would diminish the horror of being in the chair for half a day, and mine was 4 hours STRAIGHT. Without a break. That was after the initial 2 hour emergency procedure, of course. Being in the chair that long was both mentally and physically quite uncomfortable, and in my mind makes it much worse than a filling. And seeing the root… ARGH! I wish I had never looked.
But I agree that afterwards, the pain was gone, except for the sore jaw. It shouldn’t still hurt because there shouldn’t still be a root in there to hurt, right?
I’ve had either two or three, three I think, and didn’t have any trouble with them afterward. Well, my jaw muscles were a bit sore from having my mouth propped open for that long, but I fell asleep during the first one. The last one was after a toothache so bad the dentist told me I could take an extra Tylenol 3 if I neede it, and I did. I couldn’t put my head anywhere but straight upright for about three days. But even so, the worst of that one was that the endodontist caught the corner of my mouth with the cauterization(?) tool, or whatever that is that burns. Twice. Very briefly, but not pleasant. I don’t know if I just have roots that are easy to work with, or if the people are just that good, but I’m thankful.
I have an amazing dentist, who is very good about making sure I don’t feel pain. He will stop a procedure if I look like something hurts, and he always makes sure things are good and numb before we start. The crowns over the root canal took at least three visits to get just right, so he just kept working on them, shaping and grinding a bit here and there, until they were perfect. I think the endodontist he sent me to shares his basic attitudes. Part of the reason I keep going to this dentist is that he is sooo good with a needle. The previous guy was so bad I almost preferred no novocaine so I wouldn’t have to have the shots. With this guy I’ve had some that I almost didn’t feel.
RickJay, I’m seconding the advice to call the dentist. It might be that something just isn’t right in there, and anyway they should be able to help with the pain. I hope you feel much better very soon.
I have had two root canals, and five crowns. Not fun. But at least none “failed”. I didn’t know they could!
Sigh. I wish we were sharks. (Of course, then I would find teeth somehow stuck in my keyboard here.)
They told me it was mandatory. Actually, now that I think more carefully, it was five visits.
IIRC, they went something like this:
Visit 1: dig out the nerve, install a temporary plug
Visit 2: check that everything’s okay, sterilize the inside of the tooth, install permanent plug
Visit 3: shape tooth for crown post, get mold for post (the metal part)
Visit 4: install post, get mold for porcelain (the white part)
Visit 5: install porcelain, shape porcelain to suit mouth
I did go back 6 months later for a routine checkup and the dentist ground down the porcelain a tiny bit more while I was there because he thought it was too difficult to floss, but that wasn’t necessary for comfort or function.
I didn’t have a crown put on. It was literally 6 hours just on the root canal. You can understand, having that as my experience, why I would scoff at a root canal being equivalent to a filling.
Yeesh, that’s ugly, and I’m sorry you had such a hellish experience. I think that is unusual nowadays, based on what my dentists said and on the experiences of people around me. However, you undoubtedly got the short end of the stick.
I have had several jolly root canals. The first one, in 1963, was done without freezing. I can scarcely bear to think of it. That one required 3 visits and they all hurt. At the time I could not afford to have a crown put on, that came years later when the tooth began to turn black.
Had 1 done by a my regular dentist, and it was a 4 visit job, plus the crown.
I’ve had 2 done by an oral surgeon who does nothing else. Quick and painless but extremely expensive.
However, now, 25 to 40 years or so after having those root canals done, they have all failed and all those teeth have had to be pulled. My present dentist said the life expectancy of a root canal was about 15 to 20 years, so she thought I got my money’s worth.
I most sincerely sympathize with anyone enduring toothache, there are few pains to equal it. And to suffer AFTER the dentist has worked on you? That should not be happening, if it’s more than a sore jaw or some tenderness.
Another hour and a half in the chair. Painful afterward (i.e., now). Plus the front crowns are not adjusted correctly yet, and are rough on the back. I get to go back next week to get the molar temp crown off and the permanent installed. Ideally the front will be adjusted at that visit, too. He’s still a lovely man, though I’m sick of seeing him.
:eek::eek::eek:
Like ETF, I had that injection into the nerve thing and it while it was genuinely horrible, it was also brief. I can’t imagine the whole procedure without novocain! All my root canals hurt for a looong time afterwards and almost always trigger a migraine, so I always ask for a few industrial strength pain killers up front.
I must say I’m developing a fondness for anesthetic that is trumping my distaste for needles in my face.
I would get all my teeth pulled in a second if it was medically possible to implant new teeth. I’d even go through braces again if they came in crooked. I’ve had 2 root canals on my front tooth and I can never get a crown that looks good. It also doesn’t help that I’ve never trusted dentists and can’t get over my suspicion that my childhood dentist hoodwinked my dad into filling several “cavities” that didn’t actually exist. There should be some kind of ratings system for dentists and doctors so you can look them up online to find out whether they suck or overcharge. Also, do they really need you to be conscious for some of this crap? Can’t they zonk you out before they start jackhammering your teeth?
I have to go in for my first root canal in two weeks (crowned tooth)…I so wish I hadn’t read this thread 