Root Canal

[Wilberforce1]

Anyone had a root canal before? I'm having one tomorrow and I'm so nervous, had a friend who spent about half an hour on Wednesday telling me how awful and painful hers was which wasn't helpful!

I lost part of a filling early on in lockdown which has lead to needing the root canal and last weekend it became infected and spread to my sinuses which was hell so I desperately want/need it done tomorrow but my friend has terrified me!!!

Any good stories out there?! Will I need lots of painkillers after?

No pain involved. The only inconvenience I had was that the dentist struggled with the extraction of the nerve (took a bit longer-still no pain). Then he filled up the tooth with a temporary filling. The week after he changed the temporary filling with a permanent one.

No painkillers required.

Mine was long and faffy (2+ hours in the chair I think) but not painful. The abscess beforehand which led to me needing it was FAR worse!

No pain with mine either. It took a long time but it was successful.

Painless. The initial injection stung a bit but that was it. No pain once the anaesthetic wore off either.

It took quite a long time but there was no pain involved whatsoever

I have had several, it's nothing to worry about.

I'm a dental nurse and it shouldn't be painful...to yourself it's just the same process as a filling but more complex and time consuming to the dentist...make sure you explain your nervous and make sure your nice and numb...the horror stories you hear are when people have an active abscess and it's harder to get patients numb but there's things that can be done to settle the tooth like a dressing with medication and then you will go back to the dentist a few weeks later and it will be easier to numb you and continue with the planned treatment

The local anaesthetic was the worst part, but once it took effect - the relief from the pain of the abscess!!

The length of time was a faff as pp has said, but overall, I was relieved to have had it dealt with.

I'd give birth several times over instead of dental abscess pain.

When you go in - ask if they can put numbing gel on where they are going to then inject the local anaesthetic. Once you are numbed up you shouldn't feel anything.

The relief afterwards should be worth it. I had to have an emergency root canal, the night before was the worst paid I have ever experienced - put childbirth to shame! The root canal was heaven once the local anaesthetic started to work.

I also took a scarf in to have something in my hands to squeeze - don't know why but I find it helps distract me?

As pp say the worst of it is the time it takes. The root canal is nothing to the pain of an abcess I was so scared leading up to mine I sat there with sweaty palms!! But honestly I hardly felt a thing. I hate the dentist and I'm a wuss so honestly it doesn't hurt!!

Wel I think I love you all!!!

Friend properly scared me, have no idea why people love to tell horror stories it's exactly the same when you're pregnant.

It's a 90 minute appointment and then I have another 90 minute appointment around 10 days later, hopefully most of it will be done tomorrow. With the infected sinuses came a terrible taste in my mouth, I've not been able to eat anything because everything tastes vile. On the plus side I've lost 4lb!!

Feeling a bit better now, thanks to you all. It's a new dentist/practice but he seemed really nice and like he knows what he's doing! The only other thing I have to get over is the price 😫

The anticipation and apprehension were truly agonising. I had barely ever had a filling and always had regular check ups. I actually asked the dentist if anyone had ever died in his chair, without realising how incredibly insulting it was - I was so scared.

It was painless. The expectation was a million times worse than the reality.

I've had several and they're fine. The anaesthetic can sting, then it's all fine. Only problem is keeping your mouth open so long. Just concentrate on something nice in the future and you'll be fine. Maybe take an ibuprofen before the anesthetic wears off, just in case.

Had one 30 years ago and it was awful. Had one about 5 years ago and feel asleep in the chair it was so painless. Dentistry has really advanced, things like fillings etc used to be awful, now it's nothing

My recent one took ages, 2 visits, a long time with your mouth open, but it wasn’t painful.

I had two root canals in my top two front teeth 18 months ago following an awful accident which left me with facial injuries. They were done by a wonderful endodontist- and I can honestly say it was a non event! The worst thing was being in the chair a while and needing a wee!!

I’ve had loads! The sorest part is having your mouth open so wide for such a long time.

There’s quite a lot of different parts in the process but I just shut my eyes and let myself drift off into happier thoughts (but then I’ve had so many I’m quite used to it all).

I always take ibuprofen for the next day or so, just to cover any residual pain once the injection has worn off. You might also have a nasty taste in your mouth for a wee while. But honestly, people make a huge drama about it but it’s nowhere near as bad as most folk make out.

Good luck!

I can honestly say that I cried with relief once they had numbed my mouth - mine was very awkward as it was a back tooth, and my jaw ached for a good few days as a result of having to keep my mouth so wide open for so long. But it was nothing that Ibuprofen didn't sort out.

It took around 4 weeks to completely settle after having both treatments, but it was a million times better than the original pain.

I fell asleep during a root canal last year.

Painless the nerve should be dead if you're having one son on pain? Slightly uncomfortable and boring but defo no pain. The abscess pain far far far worse!!!
Take some ear phones you'll be fine!

With proper anaesthesia a root canal is painless. In the hands of a skilled dentist the anaesthetic injections are also near-painless.

With a bad dentist, who shoves the injection in in a hurry, and doesn't listen if the patient complains of pain, it'll be agony.

Best advice I can give is download some good podcasts/music on your phone and pop your headphones in so you can zone out a bit xx

Best advice I can give is download some good podcasts/music on your phone and pop your headphones in so you can zone out a bit xx

I had one maybe 5yrs ago. No pain at all! The worst part was I started getting the urge to swallow all the time- despite there being nothing in my throat to actually swallow. We had to stop for a few minutes as I think my mouth was just tired from being jammed open for so long,

Not sure if they anesthetised more than they should, but I remember coming out of the dentist and lining up at the post office, and feeling completely off my tits!!!! I felt really spaced out, but happy!!!

You will be fine, and if you do feel any pain, just tell them.

i was v nervous before mine. husband actually told me - you won’t cope (helpful). it was fine. no pain. took a long time 90 mins or a bit more. but dentist kept stopping for breaks so i could rest my jaw. had it done 2012 and never had a moments bother with it since. was eye wateringly expensive as was private but i really did not want to lose the tooth. i put it on the credit card and paid it off over several months.