Root Canal fears and preperations.

Post Reply New Topic

I'm having a Root Canal on Thursday and i'm pretty fearful. Its 4:35 am wear I live and I have been pacing the floor for the last hour contemplating to call my dentist when the office opens up and telling him to cancel everything.
My Aunt (who I live with) has told me to go though with it if I don't want to look like the rednecks and crack addicts that come into the grocery store where she works. I might as well go through with this whole thing.I'm posting this to ask what should I do to get ready for this. I thought of not eating until Friday or Saturday, but that is never a good idea. I was advised to consume nothing but "clear liquds" until I can tolerate solid food, any suggestions on what "clear liquds" to have? I'm also being knocked out for two hours while they do whatever they do in a Root Canal, they gave me Vallum to take before said appointment, will they use anything else? What will happen when I wake up?

Can anyone who has had a Root Canal or knows someone who has answer this quetions and tell me if I should expect anything else?

Hey there

I am sorry to hear you are getting so stressed about this treatment you will be having. I don't particularly like the dentist myself and when I had to have a root canal done last year I worried about it too ( however not to the extent it is affecting you). Please can I reassure you that for me it was nothing like as bad as I had expected it to be and I was awake with only local anaesthetic. If you are having a general anaesthetic then you will be aware of nothing as you will be knocked out as you say. Also when you come round you will feel nothing as the tooth is effectively dead with no nerves so there will be no pain!! It was probably one of the least traumatic experiences I have had in a dentist and I had to have a wisdom tooth out last year also and even that wasn't that bad. I think we hear all these horror stories about what will happen etc and they are all over the top or made up even. My experience was really absolutely fine and would happily go back and have it done again if necessary as I spent years suffering with discomfort in the tooth and now nothing!! !! It really made such a difference to me. Wish I had done something about it years ago instead of letting my worries stop me. It is so important to have it done as not only will it get rid of any pain you are having if you leave it and it gets worse and infections spread you can end up having to have a bigger job done and you don't want that. As for what clear fluids are best I don't know much about as I was not knocked out so that wasn't a concern for me but I would guess water would be the best bet ) And definitely don't stop eating in preperation you will feel terrible! Keep yourself healthy!! Hope this helps - you will be fine!! ! )

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/clear- ... et/MY00742
Mayo clinic has a web page on clear liquid diets

I can second what others have said --

I've had an old root canal (more than a decade ago) which was annoying, but even then not that painful.

I've had a recent root canal, and it was INFINITELY better than the old ones. Hardly felt anything at all. If you are having a general anaesthetic, then you literally won't feel anything at all. Seriously, this is a piece of cake for you. You have no need to worry at all.

I have had three root canels done, as long as the nerve is dead or well dosed with local it should not hurt. Of the three I have had done the first scared me the most but hurt the least.

But if the dentist pokes a live nerve with the file it will hurt like murder for a moment, if they drip some local into the tooth it soon stops hurting.

I would relax and stay calm, I find a root canel not enjoyable but it hurts less than having a filling done. Just make sure you have a modern humane dentist.

_________________
Health is a state of physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity I am not a jigsaw, I am a free man !

Diagnosed under the DSM5 rules with autism spectrum disorder, under DSM4 psychologist said would have been AS (299.80) but I suspect that I am somewhere between 299.80 and 299.00 (Autism) under DSM4.

Having a root canal done is not a big deal at all. In fact, it's not all that different from having a regular cavity drilled. My brother and I have both had root canals done and neither of us were knocked out for it, just given some shots and laughing gas.

You'll be fine. I've had a lot of root canals. The awful stories are from the olden days. (I'm 60yo) But in these modern times, it feels pretty much like a filling when they do it. All that prep you describe sounds like they're up to speed. Tell them you have a low pain threshold, but your mom probably already did that. The needle they use on me is almost invisible, it's so thin. And they pre-freeze with a swab. I tell you no lie - once he froze me and I didn't notice.

Really, get your root canal. You'll be fine. Ask for painkillers for when you thaw out.