Has anybody had a root canal?
Has anybody had a root canal?
I just learnt a sore tooth of mine is caused by my tooth root never fully closing (due to getting braces and shifting my teeth around). Now at 30 I need a root canal.
I’ve never even had a cavity before. I’m legit terrified. Teeth are the one thing that are much worse than nails on chalkboard for me.
How was your experience been? Any words of advice or words of encouragement? I could use it :(
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As far as fearing pain: I got drugged up enough as I assume most did that you can’t feel a whole lot—& we aren’t talking anything beyond local anesthesia + strong paracetamol (just make sure you take something before bed or GG sleep). I will never get used to getting needles in gums tho.
If possible, seriously try to get a one-shot appointment. Mine had 5 1-hour visits every 2 weeks (not what I expected or would have signed up for) & each time they would spend like 15–20 minutes of that clearing out & reapplying a temporary resin. In this state your tooth is quite compromised state. My tooth ended up getting a fissure all along it after the penultimate visit—which ended up being irrepairable. Which meant they had to do an entire extraction for an implant wasting more money & time. I do not wish this on anyone.
Adding fuel to the shit fire was after visit 3 I had massive pain on the other side. They were going to start a root canal on that one too but I begged for a temporary filling (was supposed to hold up 2 months but has been a year) so I could still eat. Tooth 18 was under repair so I had moved all chewing to 31 as my mouth favors putting a majority of pressure on these 2 molars. I don’t think I could have reasonable eaten anything enjoyable for months if both sides were out.
Of note: the root canal isn’t like a finalized thing either. They seem to inevitably, eventually break down & will likely require an implant anyways in a few years. When my right side goes out—which it is—I may just consider doing another implant there too since it can be done in just 2 visits here.
Oh? I was under the impression that a canal was a permanent solution. You end up losing the tooth it’s done to???
That's a tooth extraction, a root canal is where they drill down through the tooth and root to get at and eliminate the infection, saving the tooth. It's not a one session job, they drill down then inject antibiotics to kill the infection, then place a temporary filling in the hole. This is to make sure the infection is gone before placing the permanent filling. I had one a few years ago that took several sessions to get rid of the infection. With a good dentist, it's not painful. Hell, my wisdom teeth extraction was way more painful.