Have you ever had a root canal done?

Question

If so, how much time did you take off of work? Was it real painful? If so, how long did the pain last? Did it feel better once it was all over with???

Answer 1

~ Don't take any time off from work.

A root canal treatment is "basically" the act of taking out the contents from the center of the root, all the way to the tippy end, and then sealing the hollow space with a filling material. Many people say that they "had the root removed" from a tooth, but root canal treatment treats the CANAL in the center of the tooth.

Usually, it is required when the tissue inside the center of the tooth (ie: in the root canal) is diseased or dead. This is usually the result of an infection caused by tooth decay that has gone "all the way to the nerve." The idea here is to eliminate the infection by removing the tissue. The next goal is to smooth out the inside of the canal(s) so that a filling material can pass freely to the end of the tooth to seal it off. Once it is sealed off, it is no longer a source of infection to your body. Your natural immune system will continue to fight off any infection that may have entered the bone and eventually your body will heal. Some people need antibiotics to help in this fight, but they are not always necessary.

Any pain after the procedure is NOT from inside the tooth. It is from the swelling and infection in the bone at the end of the tooth. Taking the nerve out (or what remains of the nerve) is just done so that we can seal the end of the tooth so that the body can heal the damage in the bone. This takes a while. Root canal treatment is not a magic wand that instantly makes you feel better. It is just the first step in what will then allow your body to heal. The healing can take a while, especially if you had a good sized abscess on the tooth.

In back teeth, it is generally recommended to have a crown placed over the tooth to protect it from breaking, as teeth that have had root canal treatment tend to dry out somewhat and become more brittle and susceptible to breaking. Front teeth are often strong enough to go without a crown, but sometimes they need a crown, too.

Yeah, it can hurt, maybe 1 out of 10 times. That 1 guy where it hurts probably waited until the tooth was already really killing him before he went for treatment.

I tell my patients that root canal treatments are like teenagers. 9 out of 10 are no problem at all, but you always hear about the bad ones.

Go here and click on the link about root canal treatment:

http://www.ada.org/public/games/animation/interface.asp

Answer 2

Yes I have had a root canal done. If I had a choice of having it done again or having the tooth pulled and a partial put in. I would have the tooth pulled. It took 4 hours for the dentist to complete the root canal. Then I got an infection where the root canal was done. Pain? It was out of this world painful. To this day (root canal was 2 years ago) that tooth still bothers me.

Good Luck, hope you have a great dentist.

Answer 3

Yes, I've had two. I don't tolerate pain very well, but they are surprisingly not as painful as you may have heard.

I only ever took the day off that I had the root canal done. I did take my pain pills (whatever the dentist prescribes, try to get them to give you the prescription a few days before so you can already have them filled).

The pain lasts for a few days (I'll say four), but that's me having a low pain threshold.

You will feel better once it's over, but if you don't, tell you dentist! As a rule, people have three roots leading to their teeth, my dentist only found one in one of my teeth. I had pain for months, kept going to the dentist, and finally they found the other root (I only had two, not three). Finally, I was pain-free.

Pick out some good movies to watch (or a great book), get your pain pills next to the couch or your bed, and snuggle in for a half a day...you'll be fine.

(having your wisdom teeth extracted is WAY worse.)

Good luck!

Answer 4

well i;ve had one done and it hurt to me cause i really dislike the dentist but it has to be done i always say i rather go get 20 shots in the arm then one in the gum they must shootyou gum with a numming agent do you won;t feel anything but they willtapp the gum and ask if you feel anything if you do don;t be afaid to say i can still feel it cause i had to get a second shot and boy did i feel it after wards but its something that needs to be done for the better of your mouth the out come will be worth the hour it may take but i do also want to point out that you may want to ask the dentist about is if a root canal really the best like when they said i needed a second root canal on a different tooth i told them that i didn;t want to have to go threw that if it was just going to cause me more trouble on down the road so i told them to jst pull the tooth instead of having more probelms down the road hope thsi helps

Answer 5

yes I have root canal was done on a Friday I returned to work Monday ..it hurts a little, depends on dentist really .. meds took the edge off by Monday I was fine and meds in trash can .follow directions they give you after its done that's a must !!!

Answer 6

No. But they did rip out most of my lower right gum, jaw, about 4 teeth and some bone. I watched it all get sucked through a hose in my mouth. After that, they stitched my mouth, what was left of that side, together again. When i left, my face was puffed out like a tennis ball..and people looked at me funny..lol

My point is, if you need it done, anything dental GET it done. Don't wait until it's too late like i did.

Answer 7

Yes I did, wasn't that painful at all the dentist used gas and Novocaine. Took just Tylenol and was back to work the next day. I also think that it is different with everyone depending on your pain tolerance. But, honestly it is not bad at all.

Answer 8

much better when it was over with. do it on a friday- you need the weekend. although my was great- it felt like it was filled with hot liquid that hurt me each time i would move- had to lay down for a day or so.... didn't go back for crown- BIG mistake, my tooth is gray now... dead... but it's in the back... and it's the same thing... they say it's brittle and it can break, it's been 5 years. wasn't too painful during- shots help... and gas@!@!

Answer 9

Yes, not at all painful. It was uncomfortable having someone work on your mouth for that amount of time but I'm so glad i had it done. Haven't had a problem since (touch wood).

Answer 10

i had one done a few years ago. it wasn't painful for me. i dont think that i took any time off. i had a crown put on and it felt funny for a couple of days but i got used to it. i was so relieved that the pain was gone that i probally did not notice the new pain from the actual procedure. ALSO, if your doctor will allow it, ask for a mirror to watch the procedure. it helped me to know exactly what he was doing.