Do you guys get any deadening for a filling or do you prefer it without? You know- make the hairs on your toes curl?
Many dentists will bring in an anesthesiologist, but it’s very expensive.
Also, you can get implants. Also very expensive, but I know quite a few people who’ve gone that route with varying rates of success. One friend paid $17,000 for hers and they didn’t take. Oh, and…no refund for failures.
Wow. That really sucks. But I know lots of people who didn’t have “complications” or a long time in the chair for their root canals. My dad had one a year or so ago. His was absolutely flawless. No pain, no extended seating, no trauma after the fact.
I had the “whole mouth gum surgery” a decade or so ago. I was knocked out for that. Having a stitch between every tooth in your mouth is pretty uncomfortable. It was 10 days of that “pot roast between your teeth” feeling. But I would never have done my whole mouth without being knocked out.
I’m whimpering and cringing in sympathy. :::shudder:::
I had my first root canal about 5 years ago. I’d had the tooth crowned and despite my severe dental anxiety, that wasn’t that bad so I went into the root canal without being doped to the gills. This turns out to have been a major mistake, as the first novocain injection had me screaming and shaking so badly I couldn’t dial a phone (the endodontist gave me a Dalmane but said I had to have someone pick me up afterward… so I had to try to call my husband). The novocaine was not successful and the endo had to give me more novocaine directly into the tooth.
Fast forward a couple of years later, new primary dentist who believes in GOOD anesthesia (for me, this means a Halcion an hour beforehand, nitrous during, and lalalalala I can’t feel a thing). The endodontist who did that root canal was surprised when I told him I’d be on Halcion as well as the nitrous he could offer. I assured him he did NOT want me sober.
The procedure went almost totally painlessly - one time, I thought I felt the beginning of a twinge, but that ended almost immediately.
So - despite your experience that one time, if they ever do suggest you get another root canal, it CAN be made tolerable (and this is coming from someone with pretty severe, and well-deserved, dental phobia).
I do agree with you on the waste of money - my first one resulted in an extraction as neither the crown nor the root canal worked. The second one (the more tolerable one), the tooth still hurts if I bite down hard on it and I fear it’s slated to go also, though it’s settled down a little lately (doesn’t hurt at random, at least).
Jayzuz…that’s a freekin’ horror story. I’m very lucky to have virtually no trouble with my teeth. I got my first two nearly-microscopic fillings at the age of 50. And I could use braces.
It’s the soft tissue that’s a problem, but now that I’m following the 4xYearly cleaning program, I’m doing well.
After 34 or so years of painful dentistry, I’ve started doing sedation dentistry, and I would recommend it to anyone who isn’t one of the lucky bastards in this thread who have painless work done in their mouths. I was sedated for my root canal, and I still felt at least one sharp jab that had me grabbing for whatever the dentist was doing to me. I’m fairly sure my root canal would have had me whimpering in the chair if not for the sedation (and I have a fairly high pain threshold and am pretty stoic).
This is a timely revival of the thread - I’m off to the dentist tomorrow to see about a persistent pain in my tooth on biting down. Fingers crossed it will just be a filling replacement, not a root canal and crown.
I had my first (and only so far) root canal in December. It wasn’t bad at all. The hardest part was keeping my mouth open wide enough, and they had to wedge a big thing in my jaw so they could get to my last molar. Other than that, the only uncomfortable thing about it was there was so much Novacaine, I couldn’t feel the back of my throat, and it was a little unsettling not to feel my throat when swallowing. As for pain, there was none. Even after the endodontic treatment (which lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes), I didn’t have to take any painkillers or anything.
This thread has been a real eye-opener. I thought 6 hours in the chair and discomfort were mandatory and unavoidable parts of the root canal process. Makes me want to rethink my dentists, seriously.
I’m sorry to hear you’re having pain and suffering. That doesn’t sound right. I Just wanted to say I’ve had several root canals over the years which were more boring than anything else. The last one, about 3 years ago, took one appointment, one afternoon, and the most painful thing was the bill, over $900. (But maybe it’s just me, I’ve had multiple teeth extracted and dozens of fillings over the years with just novocaine, so maybe I’m just used to having my teeth messed with.)
That may be a good idea. I never had dental treatment while I was in the US (and it shows) but I had an RCT today. It took about 45 minutes - no crown involved. It wasn’t fun, of course, but it didn’t hurt. Some of that 45 minutes was taken up with x-rays, during which time my dentist scolded me for having a “tiny mouth”.
She has the bedside manner of a barracudda, but she’s very competent and if I express any signs of pain or discomfort, she’ll stop and deal with things before continuing.