i have to get root canal

Post Reply New Topic

I hate the dentist


can anyone give me tips on how to deal with root canal?

If you need a root canal, you just go get it done, period. If you don't, the infection could spread to the jawbone or worse. It'll only take an hour, and they'll give you a shot of Novocaine. Now, I've had bad teeth my whole life, so root canals are just something I've gotten used to over the years. What I do it take two Advil (ibuprofen) pills before going to my appointment, so by the time the dentist is finished with the work, the Advil starts working.

For dealing with the pain after the procedure, I swish vodka around the tooth, after keeping the bottle in the freezer for a few hours. The vodka helps numb and cool the inflamed gums around the root canal tooth, plus it acts as a disinfectant. I buy a low-end, nasty-tasting brand to reduce the temptation to drink it, but end up doing it anyway . And for the rest of the day, I limit myself to foods that don't require chewing, like fruit smoothies and tuna salads.

I had to have a root canal a couple of years ago. They drilled out the tooth then scrubbed out the root with a tiny brush and then filled it all up again with filling, I had to have a crown fitted so they took a cast and I went home with a very embarrassing stump for 2 weeks and then they fitted the crown on top (glued it). Ive had constant pain from the crown since getting it done and in the future would just get them to pull out the tooth, I think its aspie sensitivity as I saw another dentist and he said the crown was done ok, and there is no nerve so it shouldnt hurt, but it does.

The worst bit for me is the social interaction with the dentist over such a long visit.

If I was you, I would think up some calming mantras you can say to yourself while you are being worked on.

I think that the procedure itself is not the worst. The worst is when they inject your gums with an anesthetic. Thats the worst.

Leave the real root canal pain when you get home, when the numbing agent stops working, and start yourself on a diet of ibuprofen, lol.

And get lots of ice cream. Works for me, as right now I have 13 sores in my mouth and is surviving on that stuff.

I've had three of them, and honestly I wish I had just asked that the faulty teeth be removed and replace with implanted fakes. The problem with root canals, is that sometimes they can crack later, and you get the tooth ache all over again and STILL need the tooth removed after the $2500 or however much money has been wasted on the root canal and crown. Just my personal experience, however. Only one of the three root canals I've had, lasted more than a year.

The root canal pain isn't bad as long as you have it done BEFORE it gets infected or swollen. If it's at that point already by now, the anesthetic might not work, and you will feel better just having the tooth out. On the first appointment, they will numb the tooth, and will drill a hole in the top, and remove the sick root. That part takes a long time, and as a fellow Aspie, I have to say that the hour or so of having people reaching in your mouth and pushing files down the hole in the tooth (albeit painless), is tough. The second appointment will be to make a plastic model of your bite, and measure up. The final appointment will be to have the crown fitted, and that should be all. Sometimes you will need a 4th appointment for a touch-up adjustment if your new crown is pushing on a tooth opposite when you eat, but that appointment is painless and won't require any injections.

Sorry to sound negative, and I hope that my reputation here as usually being positive, will qualify my views on this one.

Charles

Root canals are no fun, obviously! But they are easier to have done today than in the past. Probably the worst part on the last one I had was the waiting. Might be helpful to bring a magazine or book to read. Good luck!

I went nearly a quarter of a century between visits to the dentist so when I finally decided I needed some major work a couple of years ago, it involved two root canals. The first root canal required a crown lengthening because the tooth was in such bad shape. The crown lenthening was just an awful experience so by the time I got to the root canal, it was no big deal. I guess everything is relative. Just close your eyes and try to focus on something else. My dentist had some nice tunes in the background so I just focused on that. And my feet ... kept moving them from one side to the other. Good luck.

If you have extreme anxiety over dentist appointment, and can't get yourself in the door, ask about being sedated. It's expensive, but you'll be under for the whole thing, and you will need someone to drive you home and get the discharge instructions. I generally get sedated for any and all invasive procedures, but that's because I have anxiety problems, and things in my mouth will freak me out What about the root canal bothers you? The idea that it might be painful?

I have had one a year for the past six years due to a bad habit of grinding my teeth until they crack. Then it's off to the dentist for another root canal and crown.

You can request to be put under. But insurances generally won't cover it, so it's allot of money out of pocket.

All you can do is grin and bear it.

Root canal therapy is a dental procedure whereby the nerve or pulp found in the canal or the root of the tooth is removed and the canal is then filled or obturated with a rubber like called gutta-percha. My sister had done an emergency root canal treatment from a clinic in Toronto where a dental drill was used to open the canal of the tooth and the canals were cleaned. The procedure was pretty painful but it all went fine.

I never had them done but my mom has. She's been prescribed narcotics from dental procedures like that. I would suggest asking the dentist for a pain med if you think the pain will be a problem for you after the procedure.

I had one done about 17 years ago, and the most painful part -- as someone else mentioned -- was the needle injecting the anesthetic right at the start! I hate needles and that was the only thing I was scared of, the pain of that needle going in.

The rest of the root canal was a breeze! It took a while -- they had to literally cut my gum open in what they called a "gum flap" as well as drill a hole in the back of the tooth. When the dentist cut my gum open, I felt absolutely nothing, and the assistant said "Oh my God, anesthesia is an AMAZING thing!" So mine must have been working well, as the whole thing was painless.

They dug out the root and cleaned out everything and put in gutta percha. I didn't need a crown as they had already decided my tooth was okay, just needed an internal bleaching, so they inserted a wad of cotton wool and sealed the tooth at the back, and I went back a week later to have that taken out, which didn't hurt as I had a rubber root and felt no pain from the drill unsealing the tooth.

Following the actual root canal though, the sense of pain does return -- they had to give me a second injection halfway through but that didn't hurt as much as it was more anticipatory rather than I'd lost the effects of the first one.

When I got home and the anesthetic wore off, I just took ibuprofen every four hours and it was fine.

I had been scared as hell before I walked into the dentist's office, but truly the only scary part was that needle right upfront. The rest was painfree and the recovery was easily dealt with using ibuprofen.

This is an old thread.

I didn't realize that. It's actually quite annoying to find out I've replied to something that has long ceased to be a concern for the OP.

I suppose it might help someone else currently, I guess.

Yes, it helps people to get over their current fears and angst over tolerating pain in the future.
As it is, my proceedure- god knows when it is, consists of one lower coronotomy, and two upper wisdom teeth
removal. I am not looking forward to it. Luckily, root canal is only for someone who has had a rotten filling and
needs urgent attention to get it refilled, I've never had one or needed any.

I heard people take big amounts of k2 and others and infections disappear.