Anyone ever had a root canal done?

[monarchsfan16]

I finally got into the dentist this morning after the weekend from you know where. Serious tooth pain and my face and lips swelled up huge. Well it turned out to be an abcess (as some smart DISers suggested last week) and they did the first half of a root canal. I broke that specific tooth a long time ago, and the nerve had died completely, leaving behind an infection. The only positive thing, no novicane because the nerve was so dead I couldn't feel pain when he was working.
The next half of the procedure is in a couple weeks. What should I expect from that? So far they've drilled the thing out, cleaned out some of the pus, and put a temporary filling on the hole.

 

[DVC-Don]

I just had my 5th root canal this morning. Only one visit to a specialilst. The left side of my jaw and face are still numb.

 

[monkeyboy]

Not to scare you but the mold for the crown
Not painful just ....nasty stuff

 

[MB MinnieGirl]

Poor thing, root canals are no fun.

You are very fortunate that you didn't feel anything and were able to go without having it numbed. If you made it through that pretty well, which it sounds like you did, then you should be fine. The next step is to put a perm. crown on and that is generally MUCH less painfull and lengthy than having the root canal itself.

Good luck to you! I know they are no fun, I've had a few myself.

 

[puggymom]

Sounds like you've had the worst part done. Good luck and feel better soon.

 

[ellyn2000]

You are so lucky! You've been through the worst of it---the crown part is just annoying, not painful. Hope you are feeling better soon.

 

[Hygiene99]

Only Brush The One's U Want To Keep.....

 

[OhMari]

I had 2 root canals and the were not the same.

But, I know they used 6 tubes to freeze the tooth. I could feel everything too.

When I went back the 2nd time, they had to freeze it again to grind the tooth down and then they put on a temporary cap. 10 days later you go back for your permenant cap.

When I got my 1st one 3 1/2 years ago, insurance paid for the whole thing.

Last spring, insurance only paid 1/2. I called the insurance up and she said, I was lucky, cause some insurance co. only pay 1/3. Many people are abusing the system and capping their teeth.

We have new insurance now, but our old insurance had a new clause, that they only allow a root canal 1 every 3 years. I can't imagine that.

 

[swilphil]

The most painful part is over, except for paying the bill! Ouch!

 

[lsyorke]

I had a root canal done in August for a sensitive tooth(no infection) that had a big filling. They did the root canal and put in a temporary filling. By that night the pain was awful! They ended up taking out the temporary and just leaving cotton in for a few days. He then continued to ream out the canal and put back in cotton. This went of for 4 weeks!! Finally it calmed down and they put in the permanent root filling. Now here I am 2 months later(still have the temporary filling) and the tooth is sensitive/painful all over again!!I even have a pressure in my lower back teeth, when this tooth is on the top. I'm almost at the point of "just pull it", but wanted to hear any other experiences.

Monarchsfan16, prior to this one I've had 2 root canals that were a piece of cake!

 

[monarchsfan16]

Originally posted by swilphil
The most painful part is over, except for paying the bill! Ouch!

LOL. Luckily paying the bill is my mom's job
Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm definitely trying to figure out how exactly they'll put a crown on my tooth since it's the front one. But that'll come later. For now I'm just glad that the swelling is going down, I'm in a lot less pain, and I can eat again.

 

[LuvN~Travel]

I had a root canal done last year, and finally got it crowned the other day. However, turns out the tooth next to it needed refilling since some of the filling had come out when a part of the root canal tooth had broken off. Well turns out the second tooth apparently has a crack as well and will need a root canal and crown. Arggggg! It'll just have to wait until January when my FSA kicks in for the new year. Sheesh!
Glad to hear you didn't need any pain meds for the root canal, though. That's great (in a way). Hope it heals soon.
Kim

 

[dg39]

I'm in the process of getting my front tooth done. I thankfully didn't feel a thing. After digging and drilling,for what seemed forever, he put medicine in with a bit of cotton in the back of the front tooth, but he never mentioned a crown. I thought that my next visit(next month) he would just take the cotton out fill up the hole and that would be the end of it. I never asked about a crown or anything. What the heck should I expect when I go back.....UGH...

 

[monarchsfan16]

Originally posted by dg39
I'm in the process of getting my front tooth done. I thankfully didn't feel a thing. After digging and drilling,for what seemed forever, he put medicine in with a bit of cotton in the back of the front tooth, but he never mentioned a crown. I thought that my next visit(next month) he would just take the cotton out fill up the hole and that would be the end of it. I never asked about a crown or anything. What the heck should I expect when I go back.....UGH...

My dentist never said anything about a crown too. Just a "permanent filling". But he knows I'm a worrier when it comes to dental stuff (he actually congratulated me today for handling it better than mom), so I don't know whether he was understating stuff or whether he was telling the truth.

 

[bsears]

honestly, the worst part is paying for it. The rest, in my experience ( and I have had 6 or 7 of them ) is easy. I would certainly prefer root canal to a filling as far as discomfort goes..

 

[goofy4tink]

I had my last root canal about 1 month before flying to WDW in August!!! I had this pain that came and went. But I didn't want to get to cruising altitude and have my face 'explode' (having had something similar happen in the past due to a sinus infection). So went to the dentist. He took an xray, and started the root canal 20 minutes later!!! It was a tooth about 3 over from the center teeth on the top. Seems most of the nerve was dead but the very tip of it had an infection. So, he took it all out. Well, all I can say is that after a week went by and I was in more pain that before I called him and he had me come in. He xrayed it again. Well, it seems that due to the tooth is is/was, the root went waaaay up beside my nose, which was where I was feeling the pain. The dentist told me that everything was fine, but since the root was so long, it takes a lot longer for everything to calm down and to give it another 5-6 days. He was right, of course. I felt like such an idiot tho. He put the temp. filling in just before we flew to Orlando. I was a nervous wreck for about an hour, just waiting for the pain. But, all was fine. Got home and a week later he put the perm. filling in.

This one was the worst one I've had done but it still wasn't horrible. I did ask for as much novacaine as he could give me tho. Even tho he kept telling me that the nerve was dead, so there was no feeling left!! Nope, didn't care...keep shoving that painkiller in!!! I am such a wuss when it comes to the dentist!!

 

[monarchsfan16]

goofy4tink
Glad to hear you were pain free during your flight. I fly to St. Louis Thursday.
I've already noticed a major decrease in pain level and swelling, and had the first part done this morning. I'm hoping this will continue and by the time we leave I'll be able to smile normal again. The 6 of us kids that are going are all seniors and all friends. Cameras will be everywhere.

 

[miste76]

Monarchsfan... welcome to St Louis
From an almost dentist
1) Root Canals can be done in one appointment or many appointments... I don't know how much your dentist (endodontist???) did... if the abscess was bad, he may have only opened it up, without cleaning and shaping and then obturating (filling it).
2) Not all teeth need crowns... sometimes, a permanent filling is all that is required. It depends on the condition of the tooth and which tooth it is.
3) Pain depends on the person... We always tell patients to expect pain. Some patients tell us that they never do feel any pain. Also, if your tooth was already necrotic (dead) than your pain was coming from the infection. Now that the infection is taken care of, hopefully the pain will soon subside.

Enjoy your trip to STL...

 

[zippeedee]

I got my first root canal today too! I noticed a big bump on my gum last week. it didn't hurt, so I probably would have ignored it, but lumps and bumps scare me, so I got it checked out. I have a huge infection so the novocaine didn't totally work. I wasn't jumping out of the chair in pain, but I could feel what he was doing for part of it. I have to go back in January for the crown, which is perfect for insurance and my FSA.
The crown is the easy part. I have had two other crowns. They use a computer camera in your mouth to get the sizing, then the computer transfers the picture to a machine that mills a block of porcelain into an exact replica of the tooth.
Yeah, I'm a nerd, but focusing on the method kept me from focusing on the pain.

 

[HollyNEd]

Hey another STL person with 2 front teeth that are crowned checking in!
I had to have both my front teeth done when I was 17 since I tried to chew up some nasty gravel when I was about 9 on my bike. I had to go in 2 different times for the root canal and then 2 more for the crowns. Truthfully the worst is over! At least you didn't have the novacaine shots that to me was the most traumatic of the whole thing!
Don't worry just don't freak when they have to file down your original teeth for the crowns. I did since I had never even had a cavity before then. Just relax and know you will have super pretty tooth when they are done