Root canal treatment

[JammyQueenOfTheSewers]

OK, I am having what will probably be the first part of root canal treatment today.

The dentist thinks I need RC treatment, and said she will drill the tooth out today to have a better look and do tests to see if RC treatment is actually needed. If not, she will refill the tooth (which needs doing anyway as the existing filling in it is broken) and that will be it. If not, I will have to go back for another appointment.

What she didn't say is what happens in between if I do have to go back? Will she put a temp filling of some other "sealant" onto the tooth? Surely she won't leave me with a drilled out open tooth? My only hope is that after the last check up she told me to book a 40 min appointment for this, but when I went through to reception they had a message to book in 55 minutes, so maybe between talking to me and messaging reception she decided to book a longer appointment to allow time to do it all in one go if necessary, so there won't be the need for a 2nd appointment?

Any advice from others experience of RC treatment would be appreciated.

DH has just had this done, drilled out last week, temp sealant and then filled this week.

I've had a couple of root canals done.

They'll put in a temporary dressing if necessary.

I found it ok, just rather a long procedure. Made my jaw ache by having to have my mouth open for so long. I was rather shocked at how deep the drill went, but if you are properly numbed up then you won't feel a thing.

It ached for a while after the anaesthetic wore off, and I had some "after pains" for quite a few weeks. Not constantly, just every now and then.

Good luck.

Thanks. I am currently putting the War of the Worlds CD onto my MP3 player to give me something to listen to as a distraction. 55 minutes sounds like a long time to be looking at the ceiling/trying to think of other things.

Good for you!

It's not a horrible procedure or anything, just takes a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng time!

they also put some stuff down to kill the root off which is why they do it in 2 stage, but just like everyone else says they will drill down, clean out put in the root killer if needed and then temp filling and then next time take out the temp filling and dressing finish drilling the root and fill it up - of course if the root still needs more treatment - they might have to repeat stage 1.

most people don't find it painfu

I believe they leave a gap between the two treatments in order to clear any infection in the tooth. Hence a temporary dressing for a couple of weeks. They fill a tooth with any signs of infection.
I've had two rc treatments and they really weren't that bad and I can't remember the temporary dressing being a problem and I'm sure I would if it was. Good luck the mp3 player is a great idea

They fill a tooth with any signs of infection

That should say they can't fill a tooth with any signs of infection ...sorry

Well, it ended up being a shorter treatment today (half hour). She has drilled out the tooth and looked at the root, which she says is dead. She's put in an antibiotic dressing and a temp filling. I go back on Dec 10th for a long treatment (she estimates 1.5 - 2 hours ) and she thinks there may be another session needed after that! Then all being well I will need a crown in another 3 months time.

The MP3 player really helped though. I only put one ear on so I could still hear her when she needed to talk to me, but otherwise I just lay back and imagined those Martians ...

I had this done today. Did the pain go away ? How long did this stage last.