Anyone have a root canal done?

[Corporate Thug]

I'm no stranger to dental work but I was told yesterday that I need to get my first root canal done. I haven't been to sleep all night at the thought. My dentist assured me that its a pretty painless process but I've been reading some horror stories online.

So what am I in store for?

 

[RaistlinZ]

They're not too bad, if you have a competent dentist. They'll numb the area completely with novocaine beforehand, so you shouldn't really feel much.

 

[DaveSimmons]

I've had one done by a dentist and a couple more by an endodontist (specialist).

If done by a competent person they are not bad at all. They give you enough painkillers that the procedure is almost painless, and I've only needed a little ibuprofen afterwards. The soreness can be there for a few days, but if you buy a full bottle of advil ahead of time you should be fine.

One scary thing was after the one on an upper-right tooth the muscles on that side of my mouth were messed up for a couple of days and were slack -- if I smiled they didn't move properly (like Bell's Palsy I guess). It was probably an after-effect of all the novacaine, and it cleared up soon. While that was going on I could still talk and eat normally.

 

[Xed]

You might want to look for a quality Endodontist if you're concerned.

 

[DrPizza]

If you start feeling pain, let the dentist know. Last fall, I had a tooth that decayed from below a filling; needed a root canal. I probably had 40 shots of novacaine before all was said and done (injected into each root as the dentist was drilling. But, as the tooth had just slightly abscessed, the experience was wonderful relief for my pain.


edit: and I went to an endodontist. Higher success rate.

 

[Strk]

I've had one done by a dentist and a couple more by an endodontist (specialist).

If done by a competent person they are not bad at all. They give you enough painkillers that the procedure is almost painless, and I've only needed a little ibuprofen afterwards. The soreness can be there for a few days, but if you buy a full bottle of advil ahead of time you should be fine.

One scary thing was after the one on an upper-right tooth the muscles on that side of my mouth were messed up for a couple of days and were slack -- if I smiled they didn't move properly (like Bell's Palsy I guess). It was probably an after-effect of all the novacaine, and it cleared up soon. While that was going on I could still talk and eat normally.

I wonder if they clipped a facial nerve when injecting the novacaine? That's weird.

 

[inachu]

Just by the odd chance if your family is made of money and lots of it then you can visit germany to get this done.

If you need it removed because its pushing other teeth out of alignment then yeah remove it. If not because of that then with your deep pocket they have a new cure for any and all teeth problems. They mix a chemical from your own body with another chemical and they squirt it into your tooth and the chemical reads the tooth DNA and becomes part of the tooth so that any and all cracks heal. Even a drilled out tooth now becomes whole again.

I'll post the URL once I find it.

 

[postmortemIA]

I have done a few, and all succeeded. Some hurt more than others

 

[kyrax12]

I'm no stranger to dental work but I was told yesterday that I need to get my first root canal done. I haven't been to sleep all night at the thought. My dentist assured me that its a pretty painless process but I've been reading some horror stories online.

So what am I in store for?

From my experience, they give you a couple of pain killing injections in your mouth.

After that, it is just playing the waiting game.

 

[esquared]

I'm no stranger to dental work but I was told yesterday that I need to get my first root canal done. I haven't been to sleep all night at the thought. My dentist assured me that its a pretty painless process but I've been reading some horror stories online.

So what am I in store for?

My endodontist takes about an hour. No second/third trips like when I had them done by the dentist.

You might want to look for a quality Endodontist if you're concerned.

Two of my root canals performed by a dentist had to be redone by an endodontist.
Ain't worth the time or money going the cheaper route.

 

[Markbnj]

I've had a couple, and also had to deal with the ramifications of one where the guy didn't get everything, so get it done right. As far as the discomfort, it's gotten much better than it used to be. It's still dental surgery, so it still sucks. I mean, what are we supposed to say?

 

[Anubis]

ive had one
not sure what the big deal is, worst part is sitting there with your jaw wide open for some amount of time

the procedure was painless

went to the endodontist

 

[Mai72]

I had it done about 4 months ago when I was in Bangkok, Thailand. I was in pain. I couldn't even sleep before I had it done.

Get it done. It will be worth it.


How much are you going to be charged? I only had to pay $400 I've heard that root canals in America can go for $1,000 easily.

 

[xaeniac]

get a good dentist and you will be fine.

 

[Elixer]

If you are lucky, they won't numb 1/2 your tongue with the shots.
That royally sucked for a friend of mine.
That lasted 6 months
Pain wasn't a problem she said.

 

[JEDIYoda]

real men don`t use any sort of anesthesia.....it goes without saying.....the wimping out of the American man!!

 

[Mayne]

root canal..another reason to gouge you for money. haven't seen a dentist in 40 years almost.

 

[Kaido]

Read that as "root canal drone".

Going to be having nightmares about that tonight

 

[Udgnim]

felt no pain other than the initial numb shot and that should be very tolerable and that is sometimes painless

after that, the worse is just the feeling of pressure but painless

I went to an Endodontist to get the root canal done

 

[who?]

The endodontist uses a chemical that dissolves the nerve without pain. The dentist, maybe.

 

[who?]

The problem is trying not to laugh because the endodontists black plastic glasses with the magnifiers make him look like Charlie Sheen in "Major League".

 

[John Connor]

I had a root canal done, but it was years ago and I don't recall any pain.

 

[MrSquished]

it's a pretty routine thing when done by any competent dentist. you should feel little pain if at all.

 

[Ancalagon44]

I've had two.

The first was on a tooth that had already died. My previous dentist screwed up a filling, which resulted in the tooth getting reinfected and dying. I went to this dentist on Thursday - by Sunday night the tooth was dead. Was at the endodontist on Wednesday, and he touched a swab dipped in liquid nitrogen onto the tooth. Didn't feel a thing. So he proceeded to drill, and you could actually smell that the tooth had started rotting inside.

They usually prefer you to go for 2 visits, because they can make sure that everything is fine. They put some antibacterial stuff into the tooth, and they need to make sure it is sterile in there, that there is nothing left living inside. So that is why they like two visits. Other thing to note is that if the tooth has an abscess, it could be really painful. Apparently abscesses contain acids that neutralize anaesthetic, meaning novocaine does not work. So, if you need a root canal, do not wait for it to get worse. Get it done now.

My second root canal was done with my new dentist, who is much better than the old one. He was going to replace the filling, but when he drilled in, he could see that the tooth was done for. It was bleeding inside or something - not a good sign. So, he gave me a few more injections and then started the root canal procedure. Because of all the novocaine, it was fine. I've just had the tooth crowned.

Oh, something else to be aware of. If you have a root canal done, in most cases you will need a crown on the same tooth. The reason is that a root canalled tooth is now dead inside and quite brittle. Without a crown, sooner or later, it will crack.

 

[who?]

If the dentist uses film xrays you have to wait for developing a few times so the dr can check the work. Most of them use digital now so it's much faster.