Root Canal advice

[Crownsandroots]

Help please :(

I had avoided the dentist for too long - and had to have 7(!) fillings at my most recent appointment.

One of the fillings was really deep and my dentist warned me it might not work and might need root canal. it was fine for about 3 weeks but all of a sudden I had the worst pain in that tooth that would not go away even with codeine - so I went to an emergency dentist.

Emergency dentist did what she called “the first stage” of root canal with a temporary filling a week ago and I’ve had no pain since. Emergency dentist said no reason root canal won’t work and said 90% success rate.

booked in with my dentist who said 60% success rate 😫

I am just so nervous and really don’t want an extraction - please could anyone give me some reassurance that if the first stage of root canal worked then the next part should? So anxious and I have 2 babies under 2 so can’t really be out of action after these treatments!

You won't be out of action whether it works or not. If it fails you have an extraction but you won't know for a few months whether it will fail as they take a while to settle and may ache on and off for a few months. This is why there's a gap between 1st stage and 2nd stage, so if it fails immediately they can remove the temporary filling and clean it out again.

Are you having a crown done? The second stage is final restoration of the tooth, so permanent filling put in and either shaping and smoothing it or placing of crown.

One of mine was about 30% chance of success as they couldn't reach the end of the root. Had it done several years ago and unless I get food stuck under the crown, I've not had a peep from it since.

I've had another recently where the long term prognosis for the tooth isn't good. The crown is protecting what is left of the tooth as it kept breaking but there is bone loss due to extraction of the tooth next to it so it won't last forever but is holding up well for now. I always need crowns on root canals as my teeth are quite brittle and break easily.

@Balloonhearts thank you so much! My actual dentist said that I’ll still need two appointments - one to get the remaining roots out and another to add a crown.

I’m just so anxious - probably ridiculous but I’m just hoping so much that it’s successful!

The crown is really easy. 10 minutes and you're done. The root cleaning out doesn't hurt either, it's just like a really long filling. It'll feel a bit bruised for a few weeks, maybe even a few months but it doesn't mean it's failing. Make sure you floss under the crown or you'll get little infections and those are painful.

@Balloonhearts thanks so much for your advice - fingers crossed it’s not too bad!

As a fellow dentist-hater you have my deepest sympathy. I had all four wisdom teeth out on the same day. However miserable your experience might be, your future self will be enormously grateful and you'll be glad you did it. (And, if you experienced labour to produce your kids then it'll surely be a skoosh!) Good luck.

@BookwormDadUK ugh all 4? Sounds awful! Thanks for your reassurance!

It’ll teach me for avoiding the dentist for so long!