Positive stories of root canal please!

[opalescent]

I am having a root canal tomorrow- it's a tooth that was heavily filled a month or so ago, but has not settled and continues to be painful.
I'm really hoping this will be an end to the issue 🙏🏻.

I've made the mistake of googling and finding countless people who have had worse pain and infection after a RCT ☹️.

Can anyone reassure me that this treatment was fine, and sorted them right out?!

(My dentist is lovely, expensive and hopefully good!!)

Thank you!

I've had several over the years and never had any problems. You can't feel anything whilst the dentist is doing the work, and I've never had any pain afterwards. You do have to keep your mouth open for a long time so your jaw gets a bit achy, and it's quite boring but that's the worst of it.

I’ve had a lot of dentist work due to poor dental hygiene as a child.
Out of 6 root canals only 1 was painful afterwards and that was just because my nerve wasn’t dead before they done the treatment, it died down within 3 days.

Don’t worry, you’ll be fine, it’s long but you don’t feel anything

Have had two and for me they weren't what people had psyched them up to be. Definitely not as bad as people made out and no issues ever and noth worked, never had problems with those teeth again. Best of luck OP

Mine was absolutely fine. I was terrified before but it was just like a normal filling that went on for longer. It was uncomfortable for a couple of days after but nothing since.

That was meant to be both worked!!!

Hello! Dental nurse here :)

Try not to worry, chances are you will be just fine. Of course google shows people who’s went wrong... who has a successful RCT then writes online how fantastic it was? We only write to complain 🤣

Speak to your dentist regarding any concerns and they can go through everything with you. They will never lie to you... there’s no guarantee it will work, however, after the thousands I must have assisted, most are fine. If the RCT didn’t work, you wouldn’t end up with infection etc, you would simply have the procedure done then find in a couple of days, the tooth is still painful, go back to the dentist and they would extract. Wouldn’t be any more painful than what you’re feeling just now :)

But honestly, don’t worry about the what ifs, chances are it will be absolutely fine. Not only have I assisted so many, I’ve actually had RCT in both my front teeth when I 13 (shitty incident resulted in dead nerves in both teeth) and never had any issues and still to this day things are fine (and I’m over double that age now 🤣)

Good luck for tomorrow, not that you need it, you will honestly be fine :)

Mine was fine and 25 years later the crown my lovely NHS dentist put in is still going strong. (And I'm terrified of dentists).

Mine was so painless that I nearly fell asleep during it! 4 years on and still not a twinge, I’ve actually vaguely forgotten which tooth it was

Another success story here. I've had two. It also made it easier later when I needed a crown, as the bulk of the work had been done. Only downside was the amount of numbing I got kept me numb for hours, so eat first or you'll be hungry!

I had one a month ago and it was fine. Worst bit was having my mouth open for ages and dribbling afterwards.

I've had a couple and found that it took quite a long time for the grumbling pain to go. With one I had to return several times for temporary fillings before the tooth was ready. Once finished I've had no further pain.

I almost fell asleep during mine. I could feel the dentist tootling around which was odd but not in the least painful! This was a few months ago and I need to go back to get a crown fitted. The tooth feels absolutely fine now and the abscess underneath has all but disappeared. You’ll be fine!

Thank you all 🙏🏻🙏🏻

Mine was fine whilst it was being done. Hurt loads for two days after (use abnisol numbing stuff, its great) and haven't had a problem with it in the last 6/7 years.

I'm glad I've still got a tooth there, lots of people told me not to get one and get the tooth pulled instead. The dentist said it was up to me but would I rather the root canal or would I rather her digging out the roots of my tooth and have a gap. I choose the roots canal.

One thing that may help is to take some music on your phone to listen to on headphones (something with a fast beat) if you hate the sound of the dentist working.

I’ve had two, both fine.

They numbed my mouth so much before my canal that I didn't feel anything, it healed fine and hasn't given me any issues since, it's super routine for them

I've had a few and never had any problems afterwards. The worst thing is keeping your mouth open for a long time and how long the anaesthetic takes to wear off. Generally, it's just dull sitting there.

This is all very reassuring! Those of you who experienced pain after- was it manageable with normal painkillers?

Yes, I took ibuprofen and paracetamol. It was just a dull ache rather than anything awful and it didn’t last long.

Lovely, thank you purple daisies 😁

I’m a bit dental phobic and was properly scared having it done, but honestly it was fine. Really good luck. The relief you’ll feel when it’s over will be amazing.

I had one, done in x2 90 minute sessions. The 1st was grim as it was a back tooth and my mouth really ached from being kept open that long! And as it was deep into my upper jaw, I had to have several top ups of anaesthetic. Second session was far more easy as it was just cleaning thoroughly, removing the temporary and putting in the permanent filling.

I won't lie and say that it wasn't deeply uncomfortable for around 2 weeks afterwards but it went away with Ibuprofen and Paracetamol and was perfectly fine once it had settled down (as they had luckily warned me). And even at it's worst, it was a million times better than the pain I had before having it done

I had one. After the pain of the prior infection it was a massive relief to know it wouldn’t hurt anymore. The local anaesthestic during the process made it painless and stress free and apart from a couple of paracetamol before I went to bed that night I didn’t need anymore pain relief.

Mine was 20 years ago and hasn't given me any grief since it was done. Most painful bit was jaw ache from my mouth being in the same position for so long.
It's a bit like a cesarean where you can sense what they're doing but it doesn't hurt at all.
I don't recall any pain after it either.

I'm one who sits in the dentists's chair and shakes, sometimes even weeps while they're working. Actually I'm more likely to weep with a nice, gentle dentist, as I'm less on my guard. Anyway, I'm a nervous patient!

I've had 3 RCTs. None was any worse than a regular filling. Possibly even less bothersome as there was so much anaesthesia in my mouth.

Top tips:

Put some lips salve on before you sit down. You'll have your mouth open for ages, the lip salve makes it a little more comfortable.

Don't actively hold your mouth open, just let it hang relaxed. The dentist will ask if they need you to open wider.

Take something to listen to. I like stand-up comedy. Have freaked out one (lovely!) dentist when her nervous, tearful patient started giggling mid-treatment

When the drill makes too much noise for me to hear the audio track, I recite nonsense poetry in my head - Edward Lear, Lewis Carroll, etc. Requires enough focus from me to distract me from what's going on.

Recovery was fine. No problems at all - except dribbly table manners that evening. One of the RCTs took several months to settle down, but the slight discomfort was not even a whisper compared to the pain before the treatment.

Hope it goes well for you