Need a root filling - what to expect?

[Smithagain]

Maybe I don't want to know, really, but ...

I need a root filling in my front tooth. It should be a small one, according to the dentist - we've caught it early and she says the front is the easiest to do. But it still sounds scary!

I've got two appointments, a week apart. But I'm really not clear what state the tooth's going to be in for that week. It is going to be really uncomfortable?

The appointments I have at the moment are either side of a few days away at the inlaws, which should be a nice relaxing time. So if I'm going to be in pain, I'd rather reschedule so at least I'm not missing out on a nice holiday .

Hi Smith.
I am a dentist.

Assuming it is a straightforward case,

Visit 1 : your dentist will numb your front tooth, drill a small home in the back of it, use tiny files to clean out the inside of the root canal, place some medicated paste inside the tooth, and seal the hole back up with a temporary filling. takes about 15-25 minutes.Usually an x-ray is taken half way through.

Visit 2 : local anaesthetic not always needed.
Dentist will drill back into same hole. Wash the inside of the tooth out with bleach,
and fill the canal with little pointed pieces of root filing material (usually made from gutta percha.)
X-ray taken at the end.

Should all be completely painless during and after and your tooth will not look any different at any point.
Hope this helps

Thanks Jasper - it does help!

So for the two weeks between appointments, there will be a temp filling in there. In which case, it shouldn't be painful beyond any general ache as a result of things being poked and prodded.

(She asks optimistically! )

i've only ever had them done on back teeth, but not had any pain betweenm the 2 appts, aside from just general "i've been poked about" kind of pain.
iw as seriously scared of my first one and it was fine!

beginning to feel better now!

GOOD!
You will be fine. I do LOADS of these ( i work at the hospital emergency dental clinic) and patients nearly always say they are amazed at how painless the procedure is.

There ARE occasions when it can be painful (usually acutely inflamed back teeth which can be hard to numb ) but this is very rare. Unfortunately these are the ones people talk about !

jasper, can i slgihtly hijack and ask another question.
one of my teeth that had a root canal broke off while i was (naughtily) scoffing toffees and I ended up having it removed.
the dentist said that they do go brittle after root canal has been done.
so my question is, I have another tooth that has had a root filling, should I have it crowned sooner rather than later? is it better to get it done before it breaks?? (also would get it done free under mat exemption atm so something to consider)