Root canal success stories!

[GentleSloth]

I have a root canal on 2nd July and just need some positive success stories as I am quite nervous about it not working!

any positive stories and how your root canal tooth is holding up would be greatly appreicated

Was this a molar tooth?

I got myself into a right state when I found out I had to have my first root canal. All I had heard and read about was horror stories , I was so anxious about being in pain. I have a brilliant dentist and told him about my fears, he was so good. He offered extra numbing injection, made sure I was fine throughout every step, and it was completely pain free during the procedure. I didn't need a crown either.

I experienced some pain after the procedure whilst the tooth settled, this lasted for about 10 days . I just took some paracetamol and Ibuprofen for the first few days to ease the pain.

@thefireplace ah, ok. Yeah that sounds horrible. I'd say it's worth the risk though if the tooth is giving loads of pain?
Mine was expensive, I think the whole thing plus crown was about 600 but it was about 15 years ago. I guess maybe I just really didn't want to lose a tooth. I'm more scared of extraction than any other type of dentistry.

I'm not jealous, not at all, never... not 😂

Yes, a bottom molar.

I have 3. The oldest one is over 30y old and has never given me a moment's bother (none of them have). It is in a molar, and the dentist warned me that it might be problematic to do because the shape of molar roots can pose issues. Nope, absolutely fine. The exposed part of the tooth broke down after about 15y and had to be crowned.

The uncrowned RCT teeth are slightly discoloured, even with white fillings, but, as I have a mouthful of amalgam fillings anyway, I don't really notice them.

The RCTs themselves were almost less bother to have done than the fillings were. Longer, but massively more pain relief.

I really do not like dentists ferreting around in my mouth, and I'm massively anxious about the injections, but once the numbing takes effect I'm far better able to zone out and accept what's going on. I also listen to Victoria Wood and she makes me chuckle despite what the dentist is doing.

One of the dentists put a sort of brace in my mouth to hold it open for me while she was working. Weird feeling, but much more comfortable than having to actively hold your mouth open for so long.

A good tip for any dental work is to put lip salve on as soon as you sit in the chair. Then your lips don't get as dry and you are more comfortable.

Fine, had zero pain for the whole time and no issues at all. I hadn't been to the dentist for 20 years out of sheer fear. I had a temp crown and then a real one. No issues since either.

Do you mind me asking how old you were when you had the 30 year one root canaled? I’m only 30 so am worried about having a root canal tooth so young

Younger than you!

Thank you for reassuring me - you’ve all been very kind!

@SnapeSnapeSeverusSnapeDUMBLEDOOORE I'm not sure what it is called. My old dentist used 'The Wand' which is a registered TM and this dentist I'm with now uses a similar thing called something else.
I don't do injections in my mouth. I just find them too painful. They were invented during the reign of George the 5th. We should've moved on IMO!

I had a root canal 3 years ago, a deep one. Took a while to settle. Part of the tooth has broken twice and I'm now booked for a crown. I could have had one straight away but at £700 I opted to wait.

In the process of paying about 1.5 K

@GentleSloth
re age, I was only about 20 when I had mine done, I’m now in my 60s.

I have one it’s coming up to 25 years

hasn’t caused me any problems at all

and it wasn’t as painful as I thought it would be more uncomfortable

Exactly this. A good dentist will ensure the work isn't painful and the benefits are enormous. Mine fell apart earlier this year after 12 years and I've had it crowned. It's a marvel.
My DH always says that modern dentistry is the best thing about living in the 21st century and I think he's right!

This is reassuring - thank you very much

Thank you everyone this is really reassuring.

Two molars root-filled and crowned in mid 1970, when I was mid twenties. One crown replaced 15 years ago, other still ok, both root fillings never been a problem. Both done then on NHS and (for reasons I will keep to myself) didn’t cost me a penny. Wish that was true nowadays.

I've had 2, one about 12 years ago (still fine) and more recently about 3 weeks ago. Procedure was just under an hour. I won't lie, the worst bit was injecting into the gum, but any discomfort was very quickly numbed.
Had to go back after approx 10 days for them to fit my crown.
The root canal was fine, although it is a bit achy having to have your mouth open for that amount of time. When the anesthesia had worn off, the pain did come back, however was less the following day. By day 3, I didn't have any. Dentist said that this is normal.
If you do have a temporary crown, just be careful eating on that side. I waited till the permeant one was placed to properly eat on the tooth again .