Has anyone gotten a root canal?

Question

I am wondering if there is usually pain in that area for a few days after.

Answer 1

I had one in 2002. Thinking about it, there was no pain except when the dentist anesthesize your mouth before the procedure. What they do is after the root canal, the covered the cavity with temporary 'plaster' for a week or so before you have to come back to install the crown. There was no pain at all during this period.

The pain was more in my wallet cos it's an expensive treatment.

Answer 2

it is normal for a root canal treated tooth to be sore when biting for the next few days following treatment. when the nerve is being removed from the inside of the tooth, the dentist needs to figure out how long the root is. this involves taking small files and working them all the way down and out beyond the tip of the root. sometimes if they feel far down enough with the file or if there is enough bacteria/chemicals from the root canal forced beyond the root tip, the ligament that holds the tooth in the socket becomes inflamed from the foreign materials. this usually resolves within a few days, but will present as soreness when chewing with the tooth. sometimes, a dentist will forget to shave the top of the tooth down. this is done because the top needs to be shaved down anyways for the crown to be placed around the remains of the tooth to hold it together afterwards, and doing it helps relieve the chewing pressures on the tooth.

if you want some effective relief from this, take motrin/advil/ibuprofen (they're all the same thing). take 600-800 mg every 6-8 hours. so basically, if you buy a jug of advil (which comes in 200 mg tablets), take 3-4 each time, and don't exceed 16 tablets per day (the maximum dosage is 3200 mg/day for people with healthy livers). numerous studies have been conducted on pain control in teeth and ibuprofen works better than vicodin/oxycontin/heroin/whatever else patients request, and will actually stop the inflammation rather than help you detach from it.

Answer 3

It's usually sore for a few days. Root canal treatment is not a magic wand. It is the first step in a process that will help your body heal, but it does not give instant healing. Doing the root canal treatment will help it stop from getting worse, but your wonderful boday has to take over from there.

You can probably do quite well with ibuprofen or Aleve for 2 or 3 days. After that, you should not need anything.

Answer 4

I have had lots of root canals, generaly they hurt for a few days, but not in the intolerable range. It is when the tooth gets infected, or the dentist loses a probe in the tooth and has to dig for it, or doesn't get all the nerve out, that the pain becomes bad.
Follow your doctors instructions about pain relievers and anti-inflamatories and you might experience little or no pain.

Answer 5

I have had four of these. In the best-case scenario, there's a little tenderness in the area for a day or two. In the worst-case scenario, real agony and the need for serious painkillers every time I had to ride the bus home from work because the vibrations stirred the pain up. If you're worried, ask the dentist to give you a prescription for some serious painkillers. Just ask for five, lest he/she think you're an addict and deny your request. That should take care of a couple of days' mild discomfort, the average scenario.

Answer 6

i've had 4 of them. some minor soreness around the general area for a few days. shouldn't be any real pain. if the root canal was done properly then the nerve was removed. no nerve = no pain.

Answer 7

When you have a root canal, the nerve endings at the ends of your roots are actually destroyed, so you shouldn't have tooth pain. You may, however, have some pain from the surrounding tissue. It shouldn't be too bad.

Answer 8

Omg Very Painful Good Luck

Answer 9

In my case I might have had about 5 in my life, and it is one of the regular procedures that causes more pain. I generally have 3-5 days pain after.. it is not a pain that will kill you.. but still pain :)

Answer 10

I had six done at one time and they are really not as bad as people make them out to be. When i got mine they gave me pain killers but i really didn't need them. Just make sure they give you some pills just in case it hurts any. I would imagine the pain is different for all. Hope this helps some and good luck!=) ~Chris~