Anybody ever needed to have a root canal done?

Just wondered if any medfets even been to the dentist with a toothache and told "you're going to need a root canal. Just the sound of it is almost frightful.

It use to be a big deal with several visits to complete. But recently I had one done in one visit . No pain except for the first shot of novacane.

On the east coast it runs about $700.

A

Sounds like the Steve Martin/Bill Murry scene in "Little Shop of Horrors" LOL

Seriously, I have had 2 root canals. One on my front upper tooth as a teenager. I tripped an hit a doorknob with my tooth. The tooth tuned black, and I chipped it. My Mom kept telling me to brush my teeth, and when all but the one tooth were clean, she brought me to the dentist.

When I hit the doorknob, killed the nerve. They did a root canal, and then bleached the tooth to match the rest. I had the chip fixed as a senior in high school, just before the prom.

I can't remember the circumstances about the other one, but it was my right molar. The Navy did it, and instead of fitting me with a regular crown, the Dental Officer filled the tooth, then formed a crown and covered the outside from the same dental silver. (It was a new thing they were doing. Besides, it saved the Navy the cost of a gold crown." Some time shortly after I got out, that tooth broke almost to the gum line, and I ended up getting a gold crown put on (at my insurance company's expense.)

I have no personal experience with root canals, BUT what my periodontist and dentist friends have told me is that if you do it when it is needed, not after it starts to hurt and get swollen, its a lot like sex. You can just lay back and relax while they do it to you!

Have your teeth cleaned three or four times a year, get your needed x-rays, have your gums probed and you'll have your pearly whites for a lifetime. Prevention works!

I actually had one last month. it was $1,100 on the east coast and takes 2 visits. you are numb for the whole process so it doesn't hurt. if you didn't get a shot, it would be horribly painful (think marathon man). i think some people have pain after the novacaine wears off but i didn't. it certainly is not a pleasant process but by no means is awful.

I had one done my senior year of high school when I broke my front tooth playing football. I didn't feel anything after the numbing injections. Although the bill wasn't cheap! I want to say I paid around 850 bucks. And that was for a front tooth with only one nerve. Rear teeth with two nerves will obviously be more!

Eric

I have had one root canal and it was not painful at all.

I was in a bad horseback riding accident that left me with some damage that required two root canals. My mother actually worked for an endodontist for a while and so I was no stranger to the chair. I've had four RCs in total. I'm not saying they're fun, but they're certainly not deserving of the reputation they have.

Mostly good news for me as it looks like I'll need one on a molar with a crown.

If they are a good dentist there is no pain, no big deal, but it is costly. He had to drill through my crown with a diamond drill, etc., and was able to save my existing crown and filled the top of it when finished like a regular filling. He's a great dentist. The cost shocked me, it came to about $1K, my insurance paid about 50%.

As someone else was saying if you need one, it's best to not wait. Apparently if you wait too long they can become very painful and also there is sometimes a chance of an infection setting in, then you have a real mess.

Apparently they can go from it hurts to it really hurts quickly, sometimes. I fooled around with one for about a year, and then one day it started getting worse and worse, not horrible pain, but worse. I went to my dentist and he did it ASAP. I was fortunate, no serious infection had set in.

If they are a good dentist there is no pain, no big deal, but it is costly. He had to drill through my crown with a diamond drill, etc., and was able to save my existing crown and filled the top of it when finished like a regular filling. He's a great dentist. The cost shocked me, it came to about $1K, my insurance paid about 50%.

That's pretty much what I'm expecting. Thanks.

Endodonists evaluate teeth that are painful with a cold test. A tooth with a dead nerve cannot distinguish cold sensation. Sometimes there my be X-ray evidence of a root canal abscess as well. A good endodonist can do a painless procedure. Once the local anesthetic is done, you should feel nothing painful whatsoever. The teeth towards the front can be done in ten or fifteen minutes, molars can take longer due to multiple, and sometimes more complex, roots. My cost has been in the $750 range.

I have had several in the past couple years, no big deal...except for the cost...for me, just like an extended drill and fill

I had a root canal in 2012. The procedure itself was not so bad but it took two weeks before my dentist could isolate the infected tooth. Thank God for Tylenol #3. The real pain came when I had to pay him $900, LOL.

During my adult lifetime, I have had maybe thirteen or fourteen root canals done. A couple of them still have the original fillings, but most have been replaced with crowns. Last year I had to have one extracted and the two on either side of the extracted tooth now support a bridge covering the three tooth span. By the way, I do not use anesthesia of any kind, my dentist loves to see me come in for work. He takes a look to see what needs to be done, tells me, I agree, and then he starts drilling without having to wait for me to get numb. He says the worst part is that he has to keep waking me up while he is drilling - the sound of the drill puts me right to sleep and when I doze off, my mouth closes. I keep telling him he can use a double ratchet dental retractor to hold my mouth open, but he refuses . . . . damn!

Yes, I do have a very high tolerance for pain, something I learned in the Navy.

I have had several. I have two crowns on molars, and the third was for one of the incisors. In all three cases, I did not need Novocain, because the nerve was already dead. So I went in to the dentist in pain, but as soon as he drilled into it, the pressure was relieved and the pain went away. I liked this particular dentist, because he had a mirror set up above the light, for me to watch as he worked on my mouth. I learned how to do fillings, and how to prepare a tooth for a crown. When my saxophone mouthpiece started to wear through from my upper teeth, he let me come in on a Saturday, and he helped me make a filling for it, using epoxy. But we undercut it, the same way that you would to put a filling in a tooth. That was way cool. 😃

These days, going to the dentist shouldn't be a frightening experience. They have come up with so many things to quell any kind of fears: movie-goggles, narcotics, full sedation, etc. Most procedures are fairly painless. The sound from the drills is just a soft hums. Root cannals used to take 4 hours. Now it is less than 2 hours.

Tell the dentist beforehand that you are petrified. They are used to it and know how to handle such patients. I know, because I am one of those big sissies. =)

The question pre-supposes a worry that root canal treatment is likely to be painful. Generally because of others reports. 2 reasons for that. Most treatments follow days(weeks) of pain from a diseased nerve, often acutely inflamed at presentation and historically difficult to get anaesthesia re infection. Second, during treatment,reports of severe pain. Here's the good news: Latest anaesthetics,eg articaine fantastically more effective than standard lignocaine and two brilliant new instrumentation zaps out infected tissue in a trice (used to take ages by hand) So do go along discuss your worries and a decent dentist/ endodontist will put your mind at rest. Trained as a max-fax surgeon before going into anaesthetics/ and psychology. Had to do loads!

I had one last year. Although I have heard many horror stories about them from friends, I found it to be no big deal. Only took about an hour and although a bit uncomforatable I had no pain. My only regret is not going to dental school-nine hundred and fifty bucks an hour is not bad.

The reason you hear horror stories is because no one wants to TELL a boring story and nobody wants to LISTEN to somebody tell a boring story, hence, they all have drama.

Then there's the cultural stigma "Is it safe?"

The reason you hear horror stories is because no one wants to TELL a boring story and nobody wants to LISTEN to somebody tell a boring story, hence, they all have drama.

That's one of the function of Forums like this one ... it's a good place to tell the boring reality of things ... ha ha

I had a root canal about 10 years ago. It was my first introduction to nitrous oxide. The dental assistant wanted to check my blood pressure before the procedure. She put the cuff on me and I could feel my pulse pounding. My BP was 200 / 100. They offered me nitrous and also hooked me up to continuous bp monitoring / pulse ox during the procedure. To feel the cuff squeeze as my mouth was wide open and the 2 ladies above me taking care was very nice. I could feel the mask on my nose and I was breathing in deeply to feel the nitrous. The feeling and sounds of air was quite nice. I get nitrous not matter what procedure I have at dentist now w/ full vital signs monitoring the whole time.

Yes, I've had 3 and they sound scary, but are nothing after the local takes effect. My worst one was on an upper molar, where the anesthetic was injected into the roof of my mouth, as well as the gum line. That needle hurt! Within seconds, I felt nothing. My endodontist uses a microscope to aid him in drilling the proper roots out, then irrigates the root in bleach to kill any bacteria. The holes are filled and you are sent off to your family dentist for a crown. Root canal in central Ohio, $900, new computer generated porcelain crown, $1200. That usually blows your dental insurance for the year. I always got an Rx for several Vicodin from the endodontist. I even got to wear a pair of wrap-around sun glasses during the procedure, so the lights weren't so bright in my eyes.

Painless with novocaine. I've had two.

Painless with novocaine. I've had two.

Actually, Novocain (procaine) has not been used in dentistry as an injectable anesthetic for well over 50 years! Not even on the market.

I have had three root canals in my lifetime and for the first one, I was nervous. I decided to take my dog along and have her wait in the car while I was getting the work done and then, I could come out and receive some dog kisses and hugs. I was so nervous that the dentist loaded me high on the nitrous oxide. When it was finally over and I approached the car for the doggie kisses, I suddenly smelled different, my Belgian Sheepdog became a super guard dog and she would not let me in the car!

I had to circle the car many times, calling out her name, before she would finally let me in the car. I left her at home when it came time for my next root canal 😃.

Lady Teddy, who loves dogs

I had to circle the car many times, calling out her name, before she would finally let me in the car. I left her at home when it came time for my next root canal 😃.

And what happened when you came home after the next root canal? I'd guess the scent of nitrous oxide would still have been wafting around for a dog's sensitive nose. Or not anymore?

I have had two or three root canals in the last year or so. The needle hurt, but after that was no pain at all while he was working and little after the anesthetic wore off. Perhaps in the old days it was bad, but not today. If you need it, do it.

hankb

I've had two teeth that the dentist tried to save with fillings but it started to hurt when I would eat. He wound up pulling the two teeth. I had a partial made and thought that would solve the problem. Now about fifteen years later the partial is wearing down and the the upper teeth is shifting down. Maybe I should have had the root canal. But the dentist said at the time the root canal can fail after a while anyway.Best thing is to take care of the teeth with fluoride toothpaste and clean between them. After site is always 20 20