Root Canal

Never had a root canal. I'll have one Tuesday. Dental work is nothing new to me. Most my teeth are filled and many of the fillings are extremely close to the roots. This one (#19) was exposed when it was being worked on. No pain felt. It was filled and the dentist has decided he doesn't feel comfortable leaving the nerve in.

Am I nervous? Absolutely, but I've had a tooth extracted, so how much worse can it be?

I had one done when I was six. HTFU.

It's not bad at all, just more seat time. Its roughly twice as long as having a cavity filled. The pain is no different from a normal filling. You'll be sore for a day or two once the numbing stuff wears off, but that's about it.

N Sperlo wrote: so how much worse can it be?

Depends. When given the option on my molars (they came in peacefully, why can't they leave that way?!) I usually have them yanked. Less pain and you get rid of them. If I recall, with the root canal you still might have to have it pulled down the road. As for pain? It can suck massively. Go for all the painkillers they'll give you.

Thanks a lot, Poopie. Make me feel like a real man!

I've been getting massively differently stories. Some are off no problem, others say they are painful. I can deal with soreness. As for pain killers, all I took for the extraction was the local. The pain killers for later have not been touched since the day of. I expect that since a gaping hole won't be left, the pain shouldn't be as bad. Guess we'll see.

The pain will be in your wallet. I just had to have one re-done and it cost me $1K.

The worst part is the smell of your tooth being ground down. The pain is manageable.

I deal with the teeth being ground down every month. My X-Rays can barely be read.

As for the wallet, I'll get the deductible later. I'm lucky enough to have dual coverage. Around $200 at the most.

Unfortunately, I've had several. I didn't get so much as a single cavity until I was about 30 years old, but have had several issues since then. As long as the endodontist is worth their salt, root canals don't hurt at all. They numb it up real well and you don't "feel" anything. You feel some vibrations and hear noises, but it doesn't hurt. The worst thing is having to keep your mouth open that long. My jaw gets tired.

It's really not that big of a deal.

So many inappropriate jokes to be made. Yea, my surgeon is the best in the area. Does them all day long. No reason to not trust him. I feel about as good as you can about a root canal.

I wonder about some of the dentists you guys got to. I have had three. I have never needed pain killers beyond the shot to numb it. My last one he did the whole thing in one visit since he has a little cnc machine that that carves out a new tooth from a little block while you wait.

Had one done this morning - not my first. The worst part of the whole deal is the first shot - that's the one you feel a little. After that not a big deal. Took about an hour. A little sore for a couple of days. Weird seeing smoke coming out of your mouth and smelling a little burning.

My father is very tough. I have seen him cut his leg to the bone, and shrug it off without so much as a wince. After a root canal once, he decided against painkillers. Once the Novocain wore off, he was incapacitated by pain.

My advice? Get the painkillers.

suck it up buttercup. They're not that bad.

Oh, I'll take them. Just seeing what is to be expected. Mt dentist has this machine that numbs you up real slow. Can barely even feel the first shot. Its great.

And thank you Dave for the oral moral support.

Had a root canal 25 years ago. Dentist said I would feel pressure. I saw flashes of colors never seen before, and saw that I had broken the right side armrest. Abscessed tooth prevented the Novocaine from being effective.. I think he then used about 10 more shots. I did no further damage. Have had several since without adventure.

I had a root canal a couple years ago, it wasn't any worse than getting a filling except it took longer.

i had one done about 8 years ago.. it wasn't that bad- the pain was minimal and i didn't even have to take any of the Tylenol 3's they gave me... they also had the light angled just right so i could watch everything they were doing in the reflection on the glass cover, so that was cool..

N Sperlo wrote: Dental work is nothing new to me. Most my teeth are filled and many of the fillings are extremely close to the roots.

Dude, more toothbrushing, less Mt. Dew!

Root canals aren't bad. What's bad is leaving one until you've got an impacted tooth. That, my friend, is the worst berkeleying pain there is.

Just make sure you get NAWZ, bra! Or else your brain will feel like this Eclipse.

Wish you luck.

I've had one, and it didn't go well. No agony, just a stupid waste of money and time.

Dead tooth that was fine and stable. Dentist flipped out and insisted I just had to have a root canal. I made the mistake of giving in.

Got the root canal done, with all the grinding out of the tooth that this entails. Which btw weakens the heck out of the tooth. No one told me I was supposed to have a followup visit with the regular dentist after the root canal for either a special filling or a crown (more money).

About 2 weeks after the root canal, the tooth snapped. Then came the extraction surgery and an implant.

So, for the grand total of about $5k, I now have a titanium tooth to replace the perfectly servicable tooth that was wrecked from a root canal.

Ymmv.

Well, the canal went without a hitch. Nothing but local and a movie. Yes, I watched a movie. Anchorman to be exact. The local is still wearing off, but I can feel everything now. My jaw is soar. That is all. No other problems. I have an appointment with the dentist to continue work and when I need the new crown, my dentist will take care of it.

I actually eat pretty healthy and slowed down on the soda, but my enamel is weak. My wife is just the opposite. Her enamel is so good, the cavities are hard to find under the good enamel. That is a rare happening, though.

Don't know what all the talk is about the canals being such a bitch. No problem at all. I was actually just eating with that tooth. No problem but the jaw locking up a tad.

Ok. Thanks all.

Holy Hopping berkeley, I apologize to the people looking for drugs after a root canal. I went this morning and I still can't see straight. For some reason he couldn't get the root numb, then he stuck the needle right into my nerve. I jumped about 10 feet.

You get a root canal because the nerve is dead; this just cleans up the hole and fills it.

HTFU unless it's impaceted. All that pressure has no place to go, rather have my balls smashed flat with a rock.