Asklemmy

Due to poor life choices, I’ve had six.

I had a really good dentist and none of them were a big deal in terms of pain or discomfort. Just boring sitting there for long periods waiting for it to be done. I closed my eyes and meditated into a half doze. Good luck!

Don’t worry. I’ve had a lot of work done on my front teeth due to an accident when I was a child. Eventually needed root canals on both.

Honestly those root canals weren’t even as bad as cavity fillings.

Most painful part, as others have said, will be the numbing injections. If you still feel pain, let them know and they’ll give you more (different people have different levels).

Make sure to ask for a bite block so you don’t have to hold your mouth open, that’ll help a lot.

They might even let you listen to music, audiobook, or podcast, depending on your dentist.

Here’s what you’ll experience:

They’ll put you in the chair, and they’ll use a q-tip to apply some local anesthetic to your gums. They’ll give that a bit to kick in, then they’ll inject your gums with a tiny little hypodermic needle to really numb them. This is the only part that hurts. I find if I grip the arm of my chair and focus on that, I get through it easier.

They’ll likely do 2-3 injections around the area, depending on the tooth and where the nerves are located. But the first is the worst, because the numbing agent will start to take effect for the others. Also your body is gonna flood with endorphins because of the pain, so the injections following the first won’t be nearly as bad. Then the dentist will probably leave the room for a few minutes while they let that kick in. If the assistant is there, strike up a conversation! In my experience, the relief that the injections are done, along with the aforementioned flood of endorphins, almost feels like a mild high.

The dentist will come back and ask how you’re doing. Your lip will feel huge right now (though it isn’t, it’s just the way the nerves interpret not being able to feel what’s going on).

Here, if they haven’t given you one yet, ask for a bite block. Seriously, it makes the process so much easier.

They’ll start working by drying the area with some air. Then they’ll probably begin drilling. If you feel any pain at all, let them know. They’ll be looking for it, and may even ask you. I’ve only ever had to get an additional injection once or twice. By this point, the injection won’t really hurt because the area is so numb.

When they’ve drilled in they’ll begin using tools to clean out the inside of the tooth, clearing as much of the infected tissue as possible and removing the nerve. The work and the drilling all feel kind of weird, because the area is numb but you can still sense pressure in other parts of your mouth. You can also hear it, unless you choose the music route. I actually find this kind of fascinating.

Once they’ve cleaned the area, they’ll put in what’s called gutta percha, which they use to plug up the canal. This will feel funny, you’ll definitely feel the pressure. It won’t hurt though.

Then they’ll plug the hole with some bonding material or cement or something. This will probably be UV cured.

And then you’ll be done! Unless you’re having the whole tooth replaced with a crown. In that case, they’ll have made a mold beforehand for a temporary and permanent crown. They’ll drill away more of the tooth and put a post in to hold the crown in place. Then they’ll put the temporary crown on while they send the mold out to make a proper one.

Then you get to go home. Take a sick day if you get them, not because you need it but because it’s a good excuse and your co-workers will all feel sorry for you. 🤣

Don’t fret! You’re gonna do great. If you have any questions or concerns don’t hesitate to ask!

I've had one. The only pain I felt was the needle prick for the anaesthetic and then later sore jaws from having to hold them open for an hour.

I agree with the other comment - root canals aren't as terrifying as years ago. I had 2 done in the past year and the edodontist was so skilled that I didn't even feel the anesthesia injection. The entire procedure after that was painless, and there's literally no pain to deal with afterwards because the nerve is gone. Compare that to when I was a kid in the 90s and it was excruciating.

I'm late to the thread, but just wanted to reiterate what others have said. The "pinch" of the anesthetic injection was probably the worst pain. The process was relatively quick, especially if they're only doing one tooth. Heck, the real pain was covering the costs that my insurance didn't cover. :)

My guy did have me use a bite block to hold my mouth open. Very handy, definitely made it easier. When the process was all said and done, my jaw was a bit sore from being in that position for that long. But that past very quickly.

Be sure to communicate with your dentist and be honest. Before, after, and during the procedure. You're the patient here, and they need to listen to you especially as it pertains to what you're feeling. If you're still feeling anxious (and who could blame you), you might ask to have one of those heavy xray blankets. It acts like a "weighted blanket" and can really help with some of those nerves.

I have a long involved horror story that led up to me needing a root canal that I decided not to post here because it probably isnt nteresting to anybody but me.

For the most part, a root canal is kind of minor. They numb your gums where they're going to inject a numbing agent, then they inject a numbing agent, worst case they go a little nutso and try to inject a few places in there but the pain is there and gone in 5 seconds. If at any point you feel pain they can do a better job of numbing you. Honestly, any pain caused in the numbing process goes away pretty quickly when they successfully do it.

They poke around, there's a little drilling, some bad smell maybe heat maybe cold a lot of spitting out little sandy chunks of debris. If the tooth is still in pretty good shape they just pack it back up and you're good to go.

If you end up needing a crown there's a good bit more drilling a good bit more spitting a good bit more smoke. But it's really just the same thing prolonged.

It won't kill you, it will annoy you and it's marginally unpleasant, The anxiety of being there in the anxiety of not knowing what's going on is much worse than the actual procedure. Meditate, chill, roll with it you'll be fine.

I've had several, due to childhood trauma making me not take care of my teeth.

It's a lot better these days. They numb, and if I say it still hurts, they get more novacaine into the tooth. They also listen when I say I need more than typical because of genetics.

Also my primary doctor gives me xanax. It helps.

For me it's three visits for each root canal. First is the drilling, second is the temp plastic cap, third is the permanent cap. Third is very quick cause is just putting it in basically.

I've had several, performed by good dentists. By far the worst part is administering the anesthesia. Second to that is the long boring wait in the dentist's chair.

I had a double root canal a few months ago, no anesthesia, and literally couldn't feel anything. The nerves on both teeth were already completely dead, there was simply no sensation at all.

I had the root canal done without an anesthesia, because I did not want a needle sticking into my gum.

It was tolerable, I did not cry or anything like. The nerve was mostly dead anyway.

The dentist took his sweet time removing the nerve piece by piece with a probe, instead of just drilling the whole tooth through. It did not matter at the end anyway, because he filled the canal afterwards. And the molar has three roots, so he repeated that two more times.

I guess it depends on your pain tolerance.

I had one a couple of years ago. The worst part was the anesthetic injection but it was smooth sailing once it kicked in. No pain afterwards.

I had one done recently due to breaking a filling while eating a Jolly Rancher. The whole thing took maybe 2 hours.

The shot of novocaine to numb my jaw was the only pain, and even that wasn't bad because the dentist used topical numbing before that. It was no different than getting a cavity filled.

My dentist has a cnc machine (CEREC) in the office to make the crown, so I didn't need a temporary cap. Waiting for that to be milled was the longest part.

I had a bruise on my gums for a couple days from the shot and the retainer clamp, but it wasn't even bad enough to stop me from eating.

Root canals used to be a lot worse than they are now, now it’s basically like getting a cavity filled. You just get a shot and don’t feel anything painful afterwards, although the drilling is loud and you can still feel pressure.

Depending on the office they may need to put in a temporary cap and wait for the actual cap to be made off site and mailed in to them, so you may have to wear the temporary for a week or so. It’s not uncommon for the temporary cap to fall out, don’t freak out if it does. You can put it back in or leave it out and just gently brush the hole normally (it won’t be painful).

If you have a strong fear of getting a shot in your mouth, you can ask the dentist to prescribe you anti-anxiety medication to take beforehand, but you’ll need someone to drive you to and from the appointment.

But honestly it should be a huge relief once it’s done, in terms of tooth pain. It will instantly be better once the numbing wears off.

Like everyone else, I agree that pain management can be pretty good these days. For me the experience was:

• dentist comes in, says hi, reviews what's going to happen, asks if you have any questions; tell them if you feel nervous, it's ok
• doctor puts a "local anesthesia" (something on a q-tip) to your gum, so the needle won't hurt too much
• then the doctor injects the "real" anesthesia in the gum. (an assistant may do this part - it varies) Depending on how deep they need to put it, you may feel a bit of pain, but not too bad. Pinch your arm moderately hard, and imagine that happening in your gum, and that's the most I've ever felt for a very deep injection for a removal. it lasts about 1 second. (some places might give you nitrous oxide for this part, but I've never had that.) They may give more than 1 injection, depending on the situation. From this point on you should feel no pain.
• doctor/assistant goes away for 10-15 minutes to let the anesthesia spread. your mouth starts to feel numb.
• the dentist comes back with an assistant, they get organized (figuring out what tools they need, etc) From this point on they're mostly just drilling or doing whatever they need, and your job is just to move your head however they want and keep your mouth open and spit when they tell you. it's a little boring, tbh, at one point I almost dozed off and made a bit of a snoring sound.
• it can be a little weird having saliva pool in your mouth. the assistant should be vacuuming it out regularly. if they're not doing this often enough, let them know. It is also very very helpful if you can breathe through your nose. if you have a problem with this just let them know.

Good luck, let us know how it goes!

It really depends on the doctor handling it. If they're good, it's nothing to worry about.

I heard the horror stories but from older generation. My root canal was easy.

They took xrays to view how deep the tooth went.

Froze area flattened a spot drilled in, and would stop and measure depth compared to xray and go again.

Dentist explained, too shallow and they would miss infected material, too deep and they could damage bone and nerve in jaw.

They cleaned it with a flexible metal tool, like I imagine as a tiny baby bottle brush, and a solution that smelled like bleach.

Filled it with a rod of material, and then did the regular filling type stuff on the hole.

Zero pain after, and abaolutely no after affects or pain.

I had a dental abscess that ultimately required a root canal to fix. Before I could go into surgery I was in the worst pain of my life. Some people exaggerate when they say they were in the worst pain of their life, so to be clear I'm rating the abscess as causing more pain than when I was hit by a car, fell off a cliff, or had life threatening appendicitis.

I had never had a root canal before, so I was pretty nervous going in. My dentist is pretty cool though, he talked me through the procedure and was very patient with me.

The surgery came in two parts. He did most of the work the first day, and had to do some finishing touches the next. Honestly, the hardest part was just sitting in the chair with my mouth open for an hour. I do remember a period where there was a lot of pressure - not pain, but pressure. That's when they're filling in your roots with... whatever it is dentists use.

Part of the procedure involves removing nerve tissue. That made me anxious to hear, because I imagined that was going to hurt, but I didn't feel a thing. Well, that's not exactly true, about halfway through the surgery I suddenly had immense relief and couldn't feel my abscess anymore.

Root canals kind of have a bad reputation because they're one of the more involved procedures at the dentist. I had heard horror stories and seen it lampooned on sitcoms, but the truth didn't live up to my fears. Dare I say it, it was almost a pleasant experience.

Good luck with your procedure, you've got this!

Many. There wasn't fluoride in the water where I grew up for the first decade of my life. Tips:

Bring earbuds and clear it with the dentist that they'll tap your arm if they need to talk to you. Have a playlist ready. If you can afford it / have the right insurance, ask for gas to help you zone out. If you feel pain, they didn't give you enough novocaine. My dentist informed me that people with red hair are less sensitive to the drug and need more of it (she noticed my beard comes in kinda reddish when she told me about that). Don't be afraid to let them know of discomfort; they want you to be ok during the procedure so not to make you avoid getting treatment right away in the future, thus making whatever problem worse.

You can maybe ask for a single pill script for a downer like zanex if you don't drive to the appt.

The analgesics today are really good, so you won't feel much, just pressure as the dentist drills through the roots.

Otherwise, tell your dentist if you feel anxious or afraid, they are pretty used to that and will generally try to make you comfortable.

Afterward, your gum will be a bit sensitive, but your tooth won't hurt since you don't have nerves endings anymore.

You got this.

I used to have really bad dentist anxiety, so my teeth got pretty bad before I finally saw someone. My dentist prescribed some kind of twilight drug before my procedures, so I could still respond to commands, but I'd have no memory of the event. I've had two root canals and the surgeon had me use the same drugs for both procedures. I don't know if that's a viable option, but I don't think I could have done them without.

Otherwise, when you go in for your consult, be honest about your anxiety. If you don't want to hear the details of the procedure, tell them that. They have to inform you of risks, but they don't have to go into detail about the procedure. I brought in headphones, which helped me calm down until the drugs kicked in, though, oddly, I can remember the music I woke up to and not much else. I was so scared in the days leading up to the first procedure, but the pain relief was so great that I'm glad I did it. If nothing else, focus on that.

I had one on an incisor as a teenager (a wrestling match knocked it loose and it formed an Abscess). It isn't exactly fun, but it won't hurt much except the needle at the beginning. I was only under local, but i hear sometimes you get the option to get laughing gas, I would take the gas if you can. It was significantly more painful before the operation than during. The vibrations are pretty intense at times and you have to stay in a pretty uncomfortable open mouth position for an hour (although they prop your mouth open for you). My least favourite part was when they clamped a uv lamp around the tooth, which felt like a big pressure for me. My mouth and tongue also got very dry, and the squirts of water they provided didn't do much to make that better. I don't remember much of the after care but it wasn't bad.

10years later fwiw, my root canal developed an infection and I needed dental surgery to clear it out. During this the local numbing was ineffective for some reason and the dentist had to go in 3 times to try and renumb it, but it never really worked. That really really hurt, but it is not exactly a typical case.

I’ve had a number of cavities repaired but only one root canal. It wasn’t a fun day, sure, but one thing that I appreciate was that it was such a complete fix for the problem. Some of my other work has had to be repaired, or I’ve had more issues on the same tooth. But with the root canal I went from being in a lot of pain to having none at all.

I had my first root canal recently. Honestly it was no worse than a filling, the most painful part was simply having to lie still with my mouth open for so long.

(I hate the injections, but I always hate injections, worth it to go through the procedure pain free though)

Yep, mine got infected on a trip the usa, food hygiene there isn't what I'm used to. I was considering ripping my own teeth out, over the counter pain killers didn't help one bit.

It was a horrible experience

I used to get cavities filled without numbing, until I was 22 and needed a root canal. They make you get numbed and I haven't gone back when getting work done. I don't think the tooth pain is bad, and if you feel tooth pain, let them know. It should be completely shut down. The most uncomfortable part is really having your mouth kept open if they do it right. The light in your eyes too, but you can close your eyes. Also the vibrations sometimes make my nose hairs tickle. All that should be worse than the pain.

Just get the gas! It's very affordable and very relaxing i did mine without the gas and it still wasn't too bad

I've had two in the past, had my third just three days ago, my gums are still a little raw. My most recent root canal was on a hyper-sensitive tooth, so there was initially some pain, but once the dentist applied another couple of doses of anesthetic, it was painless, basically a more prolonged filling. The only thing I'd add is that my dentist recommended ibuprofen for after the anesthetic wears off, since there may be some pain, I'd second that recommendation since your gums will be sore for a few days

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.

Had some. Not bad. The worst part is the numbing. It doesn't hurt, it just feels strange and tastes bitter. Some advice, don't take laxatives before the procedure. You'll be fine.

The worst part in my experience was actually getting numbed. You can't see the needle going in so a lot of people with needle phobias won't have any problem, but for me the feeling of a needle is repulsive. After that it was smooth sailing, just a bit boring.

The pop culture reputation of dentists as literal torturers is pretty outdated. Medicine has improved a lot in a short amount of time. Just look up reviews before picking your dentist, and don't cheap out if you can help it.

As long as its done by a qualified professional with proper anesthesia, you should be fine.

Do consult a professional though, every situation is different, and we're generally not professionals around here.

Good luck kid your gonna need it

I've had good dentists that have kept me mostly pain free. Hope you have the same. For me, it's mostly about tolerating the amount of stuff put into my mouth at once, which can be uncomfortable. But it's not too bad. You'll be fine I'm sure :)