Root canal - is it as bad as people keep telling me?

[majorcrowdpleaser]

I am booked in to have root canal tomorrow and am petrified. I know a few people who have had it done and say they were fine but also quite a few who pull as face and proceed to tell me their horror stories including a lady at the supermarket checkout who told me she would rather give birth again!

I have a real fear of the dentist and it does'nt help that the dentist is very quite and says as little as possible which doesn't help with my anxieties.

He says that he will only need to perform the root canal on one root of the tooth not the two but apart from that has'nt explained much else like how long it will take (wish I'd asked but wanted to get out asap!).

I am also wondering whether I should'nt just get the tooth removed. Its one of the bottom premolars so would'nt really show and that must be a cheaper option?

Yes it can take an hour or maybe 2 x 1 hour

Shamefully I've had a couple

Totally fine. Most uncomfortable but was having to have my mouth open that long as one was a back molar. Otherwise just the same as a filling.

Ouch ex that sounds pretty traumatic!
I had a composite veneer on my front tooth that had discoloured (think that was from braces). Just a veneer but made out of colour matched filling rather than pricey porcelain. Could be an option for you? Cost me £90 at a private dentist and it was one of the best £90 I've ever spent- I actually smile properly now!

The injection stings a bit. The rest of it was totally fine.

It's OK, just goes on for ages. A tip would be to take Ipod or something to listen to as I find the noises can make things appear worse.

booze yeah it was awful. broke my nose, bit through my lip and loosened 4 teeth. don't remember a thing.

I was dreading mine but it didn't hurt, just took a long time. I could eat normally the same day but when I had a tooth extracted it took days to heal and I lived on soup.

Thanks all that has really helped - will take my phone and headphones if it does go on for too long. I have a relaxation app on there which may help. Still dreading it though :(

You won't be able to fiddle with your phone once they've started, so whatever you want to listen to, set it up at the start. I missed this trick and my Ipod found Kylie for half an hour . Good luck!

I've had root canals on two teeth, both of which have been redone, so I guess 4 in total. I agree that it doesn't hurt and takes around an hour for the first main appointment (then usually another couple of appointments to finish off).

Something I wasn't expecting is that the dentist will probably use a rubber dam to isolate the tooth. This is a piece of rubber about the size of a saucer with a hole in the middle. They push it onto the tooth in question to keep it free from other debris I guess. I found it a bit claustrophobic but it wasn't painful, just awkward to keep my mouth open that wide for so long.

Good luck!

Oh yes, that was quite a major thing we missed out! A bit like a trampoline in your mouth.

Let us know how it goes OP, I've got a root canal on Saturday (as that's the day the dentist saves for the tricky treatment)

After the root canal I'm having a crown fitted. The dentist reckons it will take 4 appointments, I'm a bit scared TBH! Until 10 months ago I hadn't been to the dentist in years.
My childhood dentist was appalling and scarred me for life. (Mentally not physically) He used to give us boiled sweets after our treatment ffs

***"The size of a saucer!!" Did I read that right?! Surely I will choke with a saucer in my gob!

I had one root of an infected tooth cleaned out and filled. Then the second root had to be done 3 months later as it also was infected. So I wd ask questions about only 1 root needing done.

completely fine. I had it done and went home by myself on the train. And I am a wuss about medical things. The thing I found hardest was the contraption keeping my mouth open and even that was fine.

Am in pain so much pain :(

So the dentist put the anesthetic in. After a few mins I can still feel my tooth and only have mild numbness (usually with filings I feel very numb quickly, gums, lips, face etc). The dentist says he is going to proceed and I tell him that I can still feel the tooth. He says he will proceed but if its painful to raise my hand and he'll put in more anesthetic!

So he starts drilling away and poking around (horrible smell comes up asume this is the infection?!) its uncomfortable but not painful then halfway through its really painful and I cry out, he does'nt stop just carries on! Another 10-15 mins goes by lots of what looks and feels like filing down in the hole he's created. Then towards the end he says he is going to fill the cavity and when he starts forcing this stuff in its really painful, I cry out twice and again he does'nt stop or ask me if I'm ok!!

He then takes an xray and tells me to go into the waiting room for 5 mins. When I look at my watch 35 mins has passed since it started and I realise that I am virtually free of any numbness (usually with filings the numbness lasts 2-3 hours!). Get called back in he tells me he did'nt get all the root canal on the xray and needs to take it again! Come back in the room and again says he did'nt get all the way to the bottom on the xray but I look tired and he will do the xray next time.

I say to him that its is painful and should that be normal and he just kind of mutters '"mmm you have crack in tooth that may cause that???" not sure what he meant by that and he's very hard to converse with :(

Appointment took from 12-1pm and discomfort was bad but I expected that after some kind of trauma to the mouth but at 5pm it had become really quite painful so took 2 neurofen and after an hour had eased a little by 10ish pain back so took 2 more before bed. Managed to get to sleep but have been awake since 4am the pain whilst laying down bad and could feel it as a pulsing sharp pain like in rhythm with my heartbeat and its now 7.30am and I am still in pain :(

Surely it should'nt be this painful 18 odd hours later! I am beginning to wish I had gone to a different dentist now, this dentist caused me pain with a filing last year and I tried desperately to get into a different practice this time but everyone was full for at least 10 days and I was in pain!

I will have to call the practice this morn but am dreading it cause I don't want him to cause me more discomfort - I am beginning to wish I had had the tooth removed.

PS LavenderRains - you will be fine - everyone I have spoken to and on here have had no problems at all think I have just been unlucky and hopefully will get it sorted.

My dentist said all pain should be gone by the next day. I'd go back in if you can.

Omg he sounds horrific. Get straight on the phone to them this morning and don't leave till its finished. Obviously see if there is another dentist available. You must be assertive; don't let anybody treat you like that!

That's my problem Bottomchops I'm not very assertive and always feel very vulnerable in a dental situation. I'll need to see him but really don't want him touching my teeth again, I just have a feeling he's going to make it worse :(

I know, you're not the only one. He just ignored you every step of the way and then didn't even do the job properly. I bet the receptionists know all about him. I just hope you can get it done today then never go there again. Have you googled him?

Yes just googled him - there was an article in the local paper 9 years ago he had prescribed a patient 50g of diazepam instead of 5mg and she collapsed and nearly died!! He was let off by the General Dental Council but then suspended for 18 months for something else but can't find any other details about that.

Yet the dental practise is a good well established one in a nice area not some back street place and I know a few people who go to him and have been fine! I must have been unlucky I guess?

I suppose the way you weren't happy with him at the consultation could have made you go elsewhere; but most of us do trust professionals.

I hope you get it sorted today. Make sure you understand everything that is happening, and if you don't, make him explain again. Don't go home without the job being finished. Good luck.

I had toothache and he was the only dentist available at the time in all honesty I wish I had'nt gone to him now:(

I've been back and he took another xray and said he was pleased that he had got out all of the root and filled it successfully.

When I asked him why was I in so much pain he said it was because he had cut the nerve and this will settle down in the next couple of days.

I am still in pain and it is'nt getting any better just don't know what to do now if I had a pair of pliers would happily rip the bloody thing out - I was expecting some discomfort but this is awful :(

Hopefully he's right then. Get on the co-codemol. Fingers crossed you'll be OK by the weekend.

Omg! No, you should not be any pain at all and he sounds just horrific! Phone the practise and say you need to see a dentist but not your usual one. Insist on seeing someone else who deals with anxious patients. Before you have any work done, chat to the dentist and only allow them to do any work if you feel comfortable about it.
I had some work done recently, a couple of small fillings, and the dentist was quiet like yours, and didn't really communicate about what she was doing. She has done a bad job on the bottom tooth, which I couldn't tell until afterwards and my tongue was numb. I just need to get it sanded a bit so its smooth. She also told me off when I jolted as she had touched a sensitive part of my tooth! WTH!
I then had a tooth chip off (a molar which had a root canal years ago) and then a bit more came off and a huge chunk of filling! I was absoloutly pooing myself about her doing the work. Luckily, though not for him, my hubby saw someone for a severe toothache he had. He HATES dentists and he really liked her so I asked to see her and she was a world away from my previous dentist. When I had the pre crown work done, she told me to raise my hand at any time and she would stop. Which she did, every single time (and there were a lot of stops). I would always ask to see her from now on, and ask for my kids to see her too.
If you aren't happy with your practise, you could always see if you can move elsewhere if they are taking on new patients.
Good luck and I hope you get this resolved.