Just survived my first and hopefully last root canal!

[DebIreland]

Oh Deb, what a nightmare! I think you're right - get it done all at once (which goes along with my theory to knock me out and take them all out). I feel like I've been punched in the face, it's pretty sore.

Where are you in Ireland? One of my former students is in Achill as an au pair and she loves it so much. Thanks for your support and cyber hugs!

I'm in the South. Achill is lovely - very very remote and has a real old-Ireland vibe. It's in the West. We were near there recently, in Connemara which is breath-taking. DH played in a band who played in Achill regularly - I spent New Years Eve there with him years ago - it was so barren but cool- listening to the wild ocean and only sheep for neighbours!

Take it easy today - try to get some rest and don't spare the pain meds!

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

Yeah, holding my mouth open for that long was excruciating. I was just eating Special K cereal. I KNEW eating healthy was bad for you, now I have proof!

broke mine on salad but I had only a cap did not need an RC. It scares me. I just had a cap a week and a half ago and it took from 430 to 7 HOWEVER I did not have to keep my mouth open all that time. I call my dentist the "executioner" to his face. LOL. He did give me time to rest my jaw expecially when he heard it snap at one point and even he winced.

 

[Zuzu03]

I'm in the South of Ireland - Cork. Achill is lovely - very very remote and has a real old-Ireland vibe. It's in the West. We were near there recently, in Connemara which is breath-taking. DH played in a band who played in Achill regularly - I spent New Years Eve there with him years ago - it was so barren but cool- listening to the wild ocean and only sheep for neighbours!

Take it easy today - try to get some rest and don't spare the pain meds!

Oooh, Connemara where the ponies come from? I had a lovely Connemara growing up (I lived in Wales) - he was the sweetest pony I've ever had! My student loves it in Achill and says that the people are really, really nice. Have to get back to the British Isles sometime very soon - I miss it so much!

 

[Zuzu03]

broke mine on salad but I had only a cap did not need an RC. It scares me. I just had a cap a week and a half ago and it took from 430 to 7 HOWEVER I did not have to keep my mouth open all that time. I call my dentist the "executioner" to his face. LOL. He did give me time to rest my jaw expecially when he heard it snap at one point and even he winced.

Your jaw snapped? That gives me the heebie jeebies! See? Eating healthy is bad for you!

I now have a temp crown on it and boy after all that digging and drilling, I am one sore pup. Ah well, at least it will all be done before I have to go back to work (school) the 26th!

 

[Zuzu03]

I have had 6 root canals in my lifetime. My dentist always puts in a post when he removes the root. The post is a metal wire like thing that goes into the area where the root was to strengthen the tooth so it won't break off as easily. I still need crowns because the root canal does "kill" the tooth and eventually it will discolor to black.
I am in the process of getting 4 crowns on my 4 front top teeth. I had 3 but they were very old, I got them in high school way back in the 70's. My brother threw a metal toy at me and broke 3 of my front teeth.
I spent 2 hours the first day at the dentist getting the root canal. The 2nd time was to take off the old crowns, grind the teeth more, have 4 impressions and have a temporary crown made. 3 hours.
My 3rd, 4th and 5th visits were 1 hour each, and I go in two weeks when the crowns are finished to get them glued in and have a 2 holur block of time.
My insurance paid about 50% so I had to take some cash from my retirement to pay for this.
I hated the dentist since I was a teen and had my first 3 crowns done WITHOUT novacaine. He did all the grinding down of the original teeth and I suffered. The worst part was.. this dentist was really old school and he didn't make temporary crowns. I had to go to school for 2 weeks with my 3 front teeth ground down to pegs. I didn't talk for 2 weeks and told the teachers not to call on me.

Holy cow, what a horrible experience! That makes me nauseous just thinking about it! You are WAY braver than I am to not have novacaine! No wonder you hate the dentist! Man, do I feel like a baby now!

 

[inkkognito]

OMG, my mouth is aching in sympathy for you. I'm amazed at your stamina at being able to handle that long in the dentist's chair for such a miserable procedure without heavy drugs (I'd have taken a bottleful of Xanax). My dentist gave me a scare earlier this week; I have an old Maryland bridge and one of the teeth broke, so I went in and he said the whole thing had to be replaced...and they could do it right then. Ugh. I had stuff to do and didn't want to be drooling so I asked him to do it without novocaine. He thought I was nuts, since the broken tooth had decay way down by the nerve. Turns out the drilling on that tooth didn't hurt one bit...which he said is BAD because the nerve could be dead...root canal time! Thank goodness it looked okay on the x-ray so it looks like I've escaped one for now. I've got my temp. bridge and go back in a few weeks for the permanent one, so hopefully it will last for a long, long time.

 

[Zuzu03]

OMG, my mouth is aching in sympathy for you. I'm amazed at your stamina at being able to handle that long in the dentist's chair for such a miserable procedure without heavy drugs (I'd have taken a bottleful of Xanax). My dentist gave me a scare earlier this week; I have an old Maryland bridge and one of the teeth broke, so I went in and he said the whole thing had to be replaced...and they could do it right then. Ugh. I had stuff to do and didn't want to be drooling so I asked him to do it without novocaine. He thought I was nuts, since the broken tooth had decay way down by the nerve. Turns out the drilling on that tooth didn't hurt one bit...which he said is BAD because the nerve could be dead...root canal time! Thank goodness it looked okay on the x-ray so it looks like I've escaped one for now. I've got my temp. bridge and go back in a few weeks for the permanent one, so hopefully it will last for a long, long time.

YIKES! The dentists must have been busy this week! You know what's funny? The hygenist at my dentist last week was talking about a Maryland bridge and I thought she kept saying "Marilyn" bridge. So instead of listening raptly to my dentist, I was trying to work out in my head why a piece of dental work would be called after Marilyn Monroe. NOW, I know what she was really saying!