Fezmid Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 Well, just got back from having a couple of fillings done. Was supposed to be no problem, but apparantly one of the teeth had more decay than they saw on the XRay and I'll now need a root canal Everyone at the dentist's office kept saying that it's no big deal, but I've heard a lot of horror stories throughout my life about them so I'm not sure what to believe... Needless to say I'm extremely scared about it. To make matters worse, there's no appointments available until March 8th, although I'm going to try to get in on an emergency basis sometime this week. To make matters even MORE worse, she said that it may hurt because the pulpl was exposed while she was drilling and I need to take a bunch of ibuprofin and if that doesn't help to get something stronger from them. This sucks. Didn't hurt at all until I went to the dentist (although it was something I know I needed to have done - the fillings, not the root canal). Moral of the story - don't do like I did and avoid the dentist due to fear. You have to face it sometime and waiting just makes things worse. *sigh* CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 Root canals usually aren't too bad. It's usually what leads up to them which is bad. When I had mine, it was because I had an infection. That was very painful. I think you'll be fine because you ovbiously aren't sick. Drugs are good these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartshan-83 Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 That sucks Fez. Actually makes me feel better about chipping my tooth though. All I'm gonna need is a crown. But if I don't take extra care to keep it clean, then I'm in your boat. Guess I'm lucky. Hope it all goes well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tux of Borg Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 I was talking to a girl at school today and she mentioned that she's letting the dental school in buffalo do her root canal. Now that girl has some guts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarthur31 Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v295/jar...31/gifs/pet.gif There there. As a young teenager I remember having 2 teeth filled like that and it was kinda painful but realized shortly thereafter that it was necessary. They dope you up pretty good so the pain is minimized to a tolerable level. If you need emotional support, bring your teddy bear like I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 Well, just got back from having a couple of fillings done. Was supposed to be no problem, but apparantly one of the teeth had more decay than they saw on the XRay and I'll now need a root canal Everyone at the dentist's office kept saying that it's no big deal, but I've heard a lot of horror stories throughout my life about them so I'm not sure what to believe... Needless to say I'm extremely scared about it. To make matters worse, there's no appointments available until March 8th, although I'm going to try to get in on an emergency basis sometime this week. To make matters even MORE worse, she said that it may hurt because the pulpl was exposed while she was drilling and I need to take a bunch of ibuprofin and if that doesn't help to get something stronger from them. This sucks. Didn't hurt at all until I went to the dentist (although it was something I know I needed to have done - the fillings, not the root canal). Moral of the story - don't do like I did and avoid the dentist due to fear. You have to face it sometime and waiting just makes things worse. *sigh* CW 257478[/snapback] If the pain gets bad (and it really can), they will do a pulpotomy to remove the infected roots, and will stuff the root canals at a later visit. I HOPE you are on antibiotics in the meantime... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 Basically you're fu*ked, bro..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBTG81 Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 Actually, the pain isn't bad at all. I've had two root canals, and didn't feel a thing. Your wallet on the other hand will be the one hurting. Do you need a crown? If so, be prepared to pay big bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 I was talking to a girl at school today and she mentioned that she's letting the dental school in buffalo do her root canal. Now that girl has some guts. 257485[/snapback] Or little money. Root canals run about 6 or 7 hundred bucks these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spidey Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 Well, just got back from having a couple of fillings done. Was supposed to be no problem, but apparantly one of the teeth had more decay than they saw on the XRay and I'll now need a root canal Everyone at the dentist's office kept saying that it's no big deal, but I've heard a lot of horror stories throughout my life about them so I'm not sure what to believe... Needless to say I'm extremely scared about it. To make matters worse, there's no appointments available until March 8th, although I'm going to try to get in on an emergency basis sometime this week. To make matters even MORE worse, she said that it may hurt because the pulpl was exposed while she was drilling and I need to take a bunch of ibuprofin and if that doesn't help to get something stronger from them. This sucks. Didn't hurt at all until I went to the dentist (although it was something I know I needed to have done - the fillings, not the root canal). Moral of the story - don't do like I did and avoid the dentist due to fear. You have to face it sometime and waiting just makes things worse. *sigh* CW 257478[/snapback] Fez Grin and Bear it man. Root canals are not a bid deal I have done most( 4) without novicaine as I have a high pain threshold. The one with novicain quit hurting the minute they opened tooth up since I had a massive absess. If you are concerned make sure they numb it real good and even see if they can give ya a little valium to calm down. However I would go to a specialist instead of just your dentist, My only bad root canal was when I let my ex dentist try one and she did the wrong damn tooth. Plus specialist can usually get ya in fast if it is hurting so bad!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 Well, just got back from having a couple of fillings done. Was supposed to be no problem, but apparantly one of the teeth had more decay than they saw on the XRay and I'll now need a root canal Everyone at the dentist's office kept saying that it's no big deal, but I've heard a lot of horror stories throughout my life about them so I'm not sure what to believe... Needless to say I'm extremely scared about it. To make matters worse, there's no appointments available until March 8th, although I'm going to try to get in on an emergency basis sometime this week. To make matters even MORE worse, she said that it may hurt because the pulpl was exposed while she was drilling and I need to take a bunch of ibuprofin and if that doesn't help to get something stronger from them. This sucks. Didn't hurt at all until I went to the dentist (although it was something I know I needed to have done - the fillings, not the root canal). Moral of the story - don't do like I did and avoid the dentist due to fear. You have to face it sometime and waiting just makes things worse. *sigh* CW 257478[/snapback] I had a root canal last summer...everyone told me it was the most painful dental procedure...you know what? It was relatively painless! I was shocked, I said "that's it?" I was waiting for excruciating pain! Novacaine is a wonderful thing! The tooth ache I was having beofre it was far, far, far worse! The only pain from the actual procedure was getting jabbed in the gums once or twice, but that was very minor! Once the novocaine wore off afterwards, it was a little sore for a day, but again, nothing compared to the tootache I was suffering from....you are lucky that it hasn't gotten that far yet! I have a relatively high tolerance for pain (it comes with being a Bills fan), and a toothache is the one thing that can get me near tears...I had a few sleepless nights with that damn thing...I found that Orajel PM (not regular Orajel) works about as well as anything over the counter...sloppy, but effective! The biggest pain for me, was the bill! No dental coverage! Don't psych yourself out. If your dentist is good, you have little to worry about... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kegtapr Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 You could always find a sedation dentist if you can afford it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted March 1, 2005 Author Share Posted March 1, 2005 Fez Grin and Bear it man. Root canals are not a bid deal I have done most( 4) without novicaine as I have a high pain threshold. The one with novicain quit hurting the minute they opened tooth up since I had a massive absess. If you are concerned make sure they numb it real good and even see if they can give ya a little valium to calm down. However I would go to a specialist instead of just your dentist, My only bad root canal was when I let my ex dentist try one and she did the wrong damn tooth. Plus specialist can usually get ya in fast if it is hurting so bad!!! 257500[/snapback] Thanks. They referred me to an Endodontist. The first one didn't have any appointments until the 21st, so I called another one that had one on the 8th. I'm HOPING to get in on an emergency basis before then, but we'll see if they have any slots... No antibiotics. She drilled the tooth, realized that it was down to the pulp, and then filled it with "vitnebond and fujii" (whatever that is...). Apparantly it might hurt but she didn't seem worried about infection... She did say I'll need a crown after the root canal. Luckily I knew I had some dental work this year so put $3,000 in my "flex spending" account (aka: pretax dollars). But that was supposed to cover new glasses and such as well. Guess not, as they said that each proceedure (crown and root canal) is roughly $1,000. Lovely... Go to the dentist everyone! They're not too scary (ok, yes they are... But you have to go anyway ). CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted March 1, 2005 Author Share Posted March 1, 2005 I've had two root canals and I have a very low pain threshold,so I requested that I be given additional novacain.Both procedures were painless..... 257510[/snapback] Ok, why does everyone have root canal horror stories if it's no big deal? Where did those come from??? Or has the procedure just gotten better? How does Nitrous Oxide work? I've read that a lot of people like using that but I don't know what it'll do to me. Is it safe? I guess I have lots of research to do tonight CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 I have had at least 8 of them. Pay the extra money and get nitrous oxide in addition to the novacaine (sic?). You will be one happy Bills fan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 I had a root canal last summer...everyone told me it was the most painful dental procedure...you know what? It was relatively painless! I was shocked, I said "that's it?" I was waiting for excruciating pain! Novacaine is a wonderful thing! The tooth ache I was having beofre it was far, far, far worse! The only pain from the actual procedure was getting jabbed in the gums once or twice, but that was very minor! Once the novocaine wore off afterwards, it was a little sore for a day, but again, nothing compared to the tootache I was suffering from.... The most painful part of the procedure, for me, was the bill! No dental coverage! Don't psych yourself out. If your dentist is good, you have little to worry about... 257502[/snapback] Dude, have had three done, two requiring crowns. Go to a periodontist or endodontist or whoever specializes in them to get them done, and find one who pretty much all they do root canals. Last one I had done took no more than 15 minutes first visit, and 10 minutes second. Dude was smooth and knew what he was doing. However, the horror story I had recently was at the periodontist. I had pretty severe gum disease, and needed to get my gums scraped. Well, they need to freeze every tooth on the right side of my mouth for the first appt. About three minutes after the last of like 20 shots, my heart starts goin nuts. At first I think Im just nervous, but then I think I'm having a heart attack. My pulse was over 170 and then I start puking and turning grey. They call the paramedics cause they think I,m havin a heart attack as well. Turns out I'm allergic to Epenehrine, and they put that in the novacaine now. Was fine after about two hours. Not kidding you, thought I was gonna die Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted March 1, 2005 Author Share Posted March 1, 2005 Not kidding you, thought I was gonna die 257521[/snapback] That's not helping... Glad you made it though -- that would've freaked me out and I may not have returned! CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 That's not helping... Glad you made it though -- that would've freaked me out and I may not have returned! CW 257523[/snapback] It was only because of the number of shots. My root canals were no problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 Ok, why does everyone have root canal horror stories if it's no big deal? Where did those come from??? Or has the procedure just gotten better? How does Nitrous Oxide work? I've read that a lot of people like using that but I don't know what it'll do to me. Is it safe? I guess I have lots of research to do tonight CW 257515[/snapback] Procedures have gotten better. Nitrous Oxide is kind of cool because you're in charge of it once it's turned on. Breathe through the nose to get high. Breathe through the mouth to come down a bit. It's not that you don't feel the pain. You just don't care about it. When going to the Dentist, I find it's a good idea to understand how Dentists feel about their profession from this little ditty from "Little Shop of Horrors." When I was younger, just a bad little kid My mama noticed funny things I did Like shooting puppies with a B.B. gun I'd poison guppies and when I was done I'd find a pussycat and bash in its head That's when my mama said... She said, "My boy, I think someday You'll find a way to make your natural tendencies pay You'll be a dentist You have a talent for causing things pain Son, be a dentist People will pay you to be inhumane Your temperament's wrong for the priesthood And teaching would suit you still less Son, be a dentist You'll be a success." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greybeard Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 I had one 20 years ago and I had two about two years ago. It was like night and day. Years ago it was a multi-visit ordeal and they removed the roots with an object that was like a metal straw. There was a reason for all the jokes about it. Now, it is all in one sitting, they take x-rays every 5 minutes to make sure they are not missing anything. I've had more painful trips to the regular dentist. One note- sometimes after a root canal your tooth gets very brittle. There is a chance it cold crack after the proceedure. Ask your doc about it. I personally like to go with a filling for a while and then the cap. Although if I remember right the cap can take about 10 times the biting pressure a filling can. So there is a little risk either way. Again ask the doc. BTW, it was a good decision on the flex spending. It makes the wallet hit a little less painfull. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts