Should I be in this much pain after the first stage of root canal?

[TheFairSheep]

Hi all. I had the first stage of root canal at the emergency dentist a few weeks ago (gaining access to the pulp, clearing it out and adding some sort of antiseptic and a temporary filling). I could not find an nhs dentist to finish the root canal so had to go back to the emergency dentist yesterday evening due to the severe pain returning. They repeated the same treatment again and sent me on my way to continue trying to find an NHS dentist.

As soon as the anaesthetic began wearing off I could feel ALOT of pain which got worse over the next hour. I cannot explain the level of pain. I have never cried from physical pain in my life before last night. It was by far the worst thing I have ever felt. I have been taking the maximum dose of painkillers for the last few days (before the treatment and after). I managed a few hours sleep after pumping myself full of ibuprofen and cocodamol and woke up this morning still in complete agony. I took my daughter to school holding back tears and feeling like the whole right side of my head is about to explode.

Is this normal? I have heard root canal can be painful but everything I can find online says there should be relief with some discomfort - this is absolutely not that.

Any ideas please? I cannot afford a private dentis and have no idea where to turn now.

Thanks

I’d go to A&E

Not normal. I never had any pain after my root canals.

I was surprised at how little pain I had too so definitely not normal.

Agreed, there was little to no pain after mine

Thanks all I really feel like something is wrong. I'm not sure if A&E help with dental problems or if they will just direct me back to a dentist

A&E won't help.

I don't see how you have any choice than to get it pulled. I know you don't want that though.

No you should not be in this level of pain - my root canal did not hurt like this

If it's the tooth itself that's hurting -rather than the gums/your jaw around it then It sounds like you have an infection in the remaining root. Root canal removes the living room, and can take multiple visits to remove completely. One of mine took 5 visits, once a week, due to my bodies stupid ability to shrug of the numbing injections.
However the dentist should pack your tooth with a filling that kills off the root from within. It sounds like they are not doing that.

As a temporary solution, you could trying clove oil to try and numb the pain at home. Personally I'd go to another dentist though.

Its the tooth and jaw, the pain is radiating all along my jaw and even into my lower jaw on that side somehow. I have been using clove oil which helps a little but still in agony. I've just been given some gabapentin which I'm hesitant to try but desperate at this point.

No you shouldn't be in any pain, they've obviously left some of the nerve exposed or the filling is aggravating it. Go back to the dentist who did it, they will remove the filling and pack it with medicated cotton wool which will stop the pain. They won't charge you extra for it, I've had to have it done a couple of times.

I feel for you. There is nothing worse than toothache, especially over the weekend!

Have you been given antibiotics? The radiating pain sound like infection.

Can 111 find you an NHS dentist? You can also check online to see where is taking on new patients.

https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-dentist/

I would be tempted to have it removed if you can’t find somewhere to finish the treatment but I don’t think they should have started half a job and left it unfinished.

Thanks. I think I'm going to have to get it pulled. I'm worried about the amount of painkillers I'm taking but I need them to get through the day

You need antibiotics; if the pain isn't responding to painkillers, it's likely an infection. Prioritise getting some amoxicillin asap.

You have what is known as a phoenix abscess. Very common.
it is beyond the scope of an emergency appointment to fully do root canal on the nhs

Ring 111 this morning. They should be able to find you an open dentist for antibiotics.

Many by me are open half day so sooner the better to call.

Second the antibiotics. I'm midway through a root canal. Had to start again as life got in the way and I left it too long to get the second leg done. Had an X-ray in between and it still showed an infection. So this time before my repeated first leg I took antibiotics again. Opted for the "better" ones in my dentist eyes of metronidazole.
Even with the continued infection I still felt little or no pain. It sounds like they left some root in. Tooth pain is the worse, it's so awful.

This happened to me.
After first appointment similar to yours I had to go to A&E out of hours and have root removed .the pain was on another level.
Emergency dentist took root out this procedure was pain free and the relief was immediate.