Anyone had root canal treatment?

[BerryTwister]

I’ve lost a chunk of tooth and a filling. The dentist says if the decay is too deep it’ll need either root canal treatment or extraction, the choice will be mine. It’s private (no NHS dentists taking patients where I live), and root canal work will cost much more than having the tooth removed. It’s far back so not visible. I’ve heard horror stories about root canal treatment. Anyone had it done without problems?

no dental problems, main issue is the huge expense. Wish I’d trained as a dentist instead of my own AI threatened career! Encourage your kids into the profession is my advice 😂

I've had two without problems - all very smooth sailing. No different to a standard filling. I worried as also heard stories but I'd have one again if needed!

I have. It's not exactly fun but it's worth it.

I have not had one, but I've read that they are linked to cancer. Robert Yoho, MD has some excellent posts about dentistry and root canals (substack) and there are other sources of info you can delve into as well. There's also a good book "Kiss your dentist Goodbye" by Ellie Phillips.

I've had 4. They're really no big deal. They take longer than a filling as there's a lot of filing and cleaning out the root and you have to wear this weird rubber dam that stops any caustic chemicals going into your mouth but mostly they're just long and uncomfortable from holding your mouth open for so long.

yeah I’ve had it a few times (terrible teeth!). It’s absolutely fine and have had no issues since. None have had to have a subsequent extraction. Having said that; it does sometimes fail but the dentist will give you the risks and an honest view of whether that is likely.

I’ve had extraction, and a root canal, also extraction followed by an implant .
I would avoid extraction if at all possible. It destabilises your teeth so they can move into the gap, so you may end up with wonkier teeth which is a whole other problem, that happened to me.
The root canal - I was dreading it but it was fine, no more horrible than a large filling really, it just takes a bit longer. It didn’t hurt.
It’s probably the best case scenario for now, as eventually you may need an implant there, but that could be 15-20 years away.

I have, and while it wasn’t fun, it was ok. It does save the tooth. (Though bear in mind tooth can be more fragile after)

I’ve had it done twice, both times it wasn’t as bad as I’d feared but both times I lost the tooth anyway.

The work was fine, an hour or so and just uncomfortable no pain.
The two or three days after when the anaesthetic wore off was pretty grim, otc painkillers didn’t touch it, it was over a weekend and I was on the verge of going back to have it checked when the pain just stopped and its been fine since. Touch wood!

I’ve had 4 root canals. I always opt now for extraction as the root canal teeth have all disintegrated and had to be removed anyway.

I had it done on back molar. Like others have said lots of pulling and pushing but no actual pain during due to the huge amount of injections before hand. Massive jaw ache though afterwards. Had crown fitted but was still getting a lot of pain so in the end I told them to remove the whole tooth. No regrets whatsoever. Tooth pain is horrendous

I had a root canal done on a lower back molar about 40 years ago. Initially it was filled, then after several years the filling broke and I had a crown put on it. It's all still absolutely fine. I know crowns are supposed to have a limited lifespan but this one must be over 30 years old.

I don't remember the root canal being traumatic and the crown definitely wasn't. I had several extractions (wisdom teeth) and I found that worse.

I had it. The clearing out of the nerve was painful afterwards (not during) and I needed painkillers. However the later root canal procedure itself in the dentist chair was fine and it wasn't painful after the actual root canal and it has lasted.

I had one in 2009. The dentist who did it was a specialist in root canals who just flew around Europe doing nothing but root canals.
The price was the worst (£900 and this was years ago), and the time. It took ages, and I struggled keeping my mouth open so they put a rubber block in my mouth.
It has lasted though. I had a private dentist try and tell me that it failed and I needed a new one. I have thankfully found an NHS dentist now and he said it was fine. Even showed me the x-ray.

Yes, I had one done in an incisor. Wasn’t too bad when when being done, but I’m now panicking about people saying they only last 15 years!

I had it recently on a mid-back molar. Also private-it was fine. It helped that I totally trust my dentist! It takes longer than a normal filling, but other than me getting a bit bored it was nothing. I don't go for traditional injections either-I do not have dentil phobia but nobody is sticking a bit syringe in my mouth! He uses one of those machines (I think the original prototype was called 'the wand' but he uses a different brand). Practically no pain whatsoever just takes a bit longer to work. The hygienist scraping hurts more.

Edited to add, no pain afterwards, it just felt a bit, weird? A bit like it didn't belong there!
I won't say the cost wasn't painful though!

I had a root canal done but it failed and the tooth was basically dying. The pain went as soon as I had it removed and I'm now in the process of getting an implant done. Annoyingly I've got to go private but I don't want to risk just having one molar on that side.

Had several not as bad as the stories I was told. I would got for it again.

Yes, two different ones, I was numb and the only issue was the usual ‘open hour mouth wider please!’ afterwards was fine, as with others I think it’s better to keep the tooth

I've got one, the result of my fondness for toffee and a history of bruxism. A very nice dentist put a temporary fixture in for me, then we moved house and I found myself in the hands of a shiny new baby dentist (fresh out of dental school) who did a beautiful job on my root canal. Shame her general manner left something to be desired...I complained about the pain and she told me not to make such a fuss!

It's not my experience that root canals only last 10-15 years either. Mine is coming up to 30 and as my current dentist does regular x-rays, he'd know if there was anything amiss.

Two, both with sedation. Remember lying there and the dentist people talking to each other, don't remember anything about the operation, or any pain. One has no issues, the other one developed a small infection which led to a bit of sensitivity and swelling, but as it was so small it wasn't clear on scans so had it for several years whilst they tried to decide what to do with me. I could have just left it and it may never have caused any problems, but I travel a lot and the risk of it suddenly turning into an abscess whilst I was in the middle of nowhere on the other side of the world worried me so I had it cleaned out earlier this year and prognosis is good, I had a misaligned bite which was causing the damage which has now been fixed so hopefully all will be well. Everyone I told I was having issues with my root canal was surprised, it seems rare that people encounter trouble. I'd get another one, though I would check how much an implant would be first as if it's not much more, it might be worth just taking the tooth out and getting a new one.

If you do just a tooth extraction, opposite tooth will drop or rise up, depending on jaw position. So do anything possible to save tooth. Root canal work isn’t fun, but it’s over within 45 minutes or so. Good luck.

I refused and had my tooth extracted I was terrified. More than happy with the experience healed no problem. As it was the back tooth you can’t see it and it’s made not difference to eating etc. it took 5 mins and healed with a week

I've had several root canal treatments and they've all been fine. Hopefully you can get your tooth crowned as well and it will definitely be worth it. Good luck.