Root Canal

hatsOFF2gibbs · Post by **hatsOFF2gibbs** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 7:56 pm

I'm due for a root canal in one week. Anyone have past experiences of it? How bad is it? Does it hurt during the procedure? Does it hurt after it? How long does it take? Will it affect things I eat? Should I be worried?
Info if appreciated!

DEHog · Post by **DEHog** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 8:19 pm

well I've worked in Dental for the past 20 years and dentistry has come along way not as pianful as it use to be. Also depends on the Dr. I know one thing you won't have any pain after!!

hatsOFF2gibbs · Post by **hatsOFF2gibbs** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 8:21 pm

No pain after the procedure at all? I'm really concerned because I have finals at school that week and hope it doesn't hinder my needed studying.

tazlah · Post by **tazlah** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 8:36 pm

I will confirm: NO PAIN AFTER the procedure! It's true!

Especially if you are having the root canal because of a bad toothache -- pain will be gone, just like that!

Mine took a little over an hour -- but it was on a front tooth with only one root. The back teeth have 2-3-4 roots so will probably take longer if it's on one of them (probably up to 2 hours).

How are you normally with dental stuff??? i.e., fillings, etc?

hatsOFF2gibbs · Post by **hatsOFF2gibbs** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 9:03 pm

Yeah, I just had a dentist appointment today and they told me that one of my front tooths was "dead." It's tooh number 7 if that gives you any info. DEHog. The dentist said that the major toothaches are due to the "death" of my tooth. They did some test on me when they put something really really cold on my tooth and I was not able to feel a thing. He later put the same thing on a "living" tooth and I could feel it just like that.
Thanks for the info guys, it's really helpful. Was there a lot of pain involved DURING the procedure though? I'm just curious....never had one before.

Redskin in Canada · Post by **Redskin in Canada** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 9:04 pm

No pain after??? Who is your dentist?

I was numb for about a day. I was sore (but not in pain) for about two days after.

Hey hatsOFF2gibbs! As long as it is NOT an ORAL exam, you will be fine. Your speech is not very good after the procedure. :-#

hatsOFF2gibbs · Post by **hatsOFF2gibbs** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 9:07 pm

Wait...what do you mean ORAL exam? They're going to go in there and put some nerve in there...that's all I know so far.

Redskin in Canada · Post by **Redskin in Canada** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 9:37 pm

hatsOFF2gibbs wrote:Wait...what do you mean ORAL exam? They're going to go in there and put some nerve in there...that's all I know so far.

ORAL school exam as opposed to WRITTEN school exam. :lol:

Will they ask you questions verbally in your exam at school? If so, you are going to sound pretty funny. :lol:

If it is a written exam, you should be fine, maybe a bit sore all around but you wll survive.

Man, do not let me scare you. The good news are that you will live. The bad ones are that you may stay in permanent screaming pain for the rest of your natural li... Oh No! Not really. Maybe a few days, well maybe hours, no...

You will be fine. They will -remove- the root of your tooth. That's all. No pain. No problem.

JPFair · Post by **JPFair** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 9:38 pm

Hopefully, you'll get some percocet for a few days, and you'll be in HEAVEN!!!

Irn-Bru · Post by **Irn-Bru** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 1:52 am

JPFair wrote:Hopefully, you'll get some percocet for a few days, and you'll be in HEAVEN!!!

You know, I had some of that stuff after my wisdom teeth surgery and it hardly even knocked the edge of the pain. Don't know if that just happens to be how my body reacted to it or what, but I was disappointed (and my jaw didn't like me very much). My working theory is that I got the same perscription that they would have given a 5'2" 110 lbs. woman (that is, me being a 6'3" 240 lbs. guy. . .); and therefore the medicine wasn't as effective for my offensive-line type body. Maybe(?) I don't know. It works that way with alcohol. . .

Chris Luva Luva · Post by **Chris Luva Luva** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 4:15 am

While we're at it, hows the pain when having wisdom teeth removed?

hatsOFF2gibbs · Post by **hatsOFF2gibbs** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 7:21 am

Redskin in Canada wrote:
hatsOFF2gibbs wrote:Wait...what do you mean ORAL exam? They're going to go in there and put some nerve in there...that's all I know so far.

ORAL school exam as opposed to WRITTEN school exam.

Will they ask you questions verbally in your exam at school? If so, you are going to sound pretty funny.

If it is a written exam, you should be fine, maybe a bit sore all around but you wll survive.

Man, do not let me scare you. The good news are that you will live. The bad ones are that you may stay in permanent screaming pain for the rest of your natural li... Oh No! Not really. Maybe a few days, well maybe hours, no...

You will be fine. They will -remove- the root of your tooth. That's all. No pain. No problem.

Hehe...I gotcha. I thought an oral exam was a different type of root canal. Nope, I already had all of my oral examinations already...so it seems like I'll be set. Looks like the whole thing isn't that big of a deal...just one hour of uncertainty.

Hey, thanks to all of you. This is one reason I love this site...there's so many people here that one of yall is bound to be a dentist and some of yall are bound to have experienced this already. Thanks again...and I'll give you an update next week....that's if I'm still alive.... :lol:

DEHog · Post by **DEHog** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 8:00 am

Forgot to ask are you getting a post and core or a crown on the tooth after the Root Canal??

welch · Post by **welch** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 9:17 am

My experience:

- root canal: unpleaseant, but dentist can numb you down so much that it will be tolerable during the procedure. You might feel exhausted afterward, because your body will tense up from expecting the pain. No big deal afterward because the nerves that carry pain will be gone.

- As DE says, after root canal you will need something like a crown, which amounts to an artificial tooth attached to a reinforcing post that the dentist will put inside of what used to be your real tooth.

- As mentioned above, none of it compares to the pain you have had from the decaying tooth.

- wisdom teeth: impacted wisdom tooth is bad afterward, because you feel like your entire jaw, bone and all, has been stretched and twisted. Percocet time, or vicodin time. I had vicodin after stomach surgery, and it made the pain bearable. I did fall asleep a lot, so it was not a great time to do serious work. ("Don't operate heavy machinery, drive a car around innocent by-standers, or try to think Big Thoughts".)

tazlah · Post by **tazlah** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 9:17 am

hatsOFF2gibbs wrote:Yeah, I just had a dentist appointment today and they told me that one of my front tooths was "dead." It's tooh number 7 if that gives you any info. ...Was there a lot of pain involved DURING the procedure though? I'm just curious....never had one before.

I think that's the same tooth on which I had my root canal. (upper tooth between front and incisor)

The procedure didn't hurt at all. I am a very anxious dental patient, so I was mentally uncomfortable -- but I am very aware that it was all in my head! It took about an hour. Basically the tooth was/is already dead -- so no pain! They removed the root and packed it / seal it with whatever they use. Even after the freezing wore off, it didn't hurt. It throbbed a bit, yes -- nothing that some tylenol didn't dull. I just chilled out on the couch for the entire evening and didn't really eat anything other than some soup that night. The next day, I think I was fine.

That tooth only has one root -- so it's relatively simple and straight-forward.

I didn't get any sort of crown or anything. They just "packed" the core with whatever stuff they use, then filled the little hole in the back of the tooth with the white filling stuff.

You'll be fine. If you have had the toothaches -- they are worse! :wink:

Gibbs' Hog · Post by **Gibbs' Hog** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 9:27 am

Wisdom teeth removal sucks.

I had ALL 4 of my wisdom teeth removed at the same time, and it hurt like a mo fo. You have to eat milkshakes and soup for like a week after, too. It's not very fun.

Luckily, I have never had many teeth problems, so I only know what I have heard about root canals. This thread actually has given me a much better view of them - don't know if you're just trying to ease the pain for HatsOff2Gibbs

hatsOFF2gibbs · Post by **hatsOFF2gibbs** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 1:10 pm

DEHog wrote:Forgot to ask are you getting a post and core or a crown on the tooth after the Root Canal??

Thanks for your interest, but they have not told me. I have to go to a "specialist" and he'll let me know what he has to do.

DEHog · Post by **DEHog** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 1:44 pm

There are many ways to go...most of the time they just pack it with gutta percha, and fill the top with a tooth shaded resin. If a crown is needed they can use a cast gold post and core or a pre-fab post with a amalgam build up. It is preped, the dentist snap a final impression and it is sent off to the lab to make the crown

hatsOFF2gibbs · Post by **hatsOFF2gibbs** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 3:42 pm

DEHog wrote:There are many ways to go...most of the time they just pack it with gutta percha, and fill the top with a tooth shaded resin. If a crown is needed they can use a cast gold post and core or a pre-fab post with a amalgam build up. It is preped, the dentist snap a final impression and it is sent off to the lab to make the crown

DEHog, thanks for the info. Although I did not understand all of it, it's nice to know. BTW, which one is more painful?
Thanks!

DEHog · Post by **DEHog** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 3:52 pm

Once you get the root canal done there is no pain. You question should be which is less $$$$ P&C and a crown can run you a few $$$$

Irn-Bru · Post by **Irn-Bru** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 7:10 pm

Chris Luva Luva wrote:While we're at it, hows the pain when having wisdom teeth removed?

With wisdom teeth, the pain is just going to happen. It sucks the first day, is pretty bad the second, and then gets better as you go along. The worst part, for me, was the swelling. Just do what the dentist tells you to, and the discomfort will be at least minimalized.

As for eating, it's different for different people. My older brother couldn't eat more than soup (but if it was too hot it would burn), ice cream, or yogurt / pudding for about 4-5 days. I could chew normal food after about 2-3 days, but about 45 minutes afterward my jaw would kill, so I kind of just didn't eat until about 5-6 days had passed.

And now, 2 weeks later, I've got these holes in my gum/jaw from the missing teeth that food gets into. . .it's so obnoxious. . .

Warmother · Post by **Warmother** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 11:02 pm

I have had just about everything done to my teeth. 2 root canals with crowns. My dentist was really good and there was little pain during or after the procedure.
I have also had 2 wisdom teeth pulled. They were not impacted but both broke in half not long after growing in, that was painful. I went to the closest dentist I could find and said pull the wisdom tooth out, he said "we can save it." I said f that I don't need the things. The minute he pulled the tooth it was like heaven. Sure that nasty hole collected food for a while and I spit a lot of blood for a day but anything was better than the pain from when it broke, and I have a high tolerance for pain.
I recently got my first bridge that was not to bad at all.

DEHog · Post by **DEHog** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 9:31 am

With wissy's #1 make sure you go to a oral surgeon!! I can't stress this enough. I do dental forensics here at Dover now and you wouldn't believe some of the things I see general dentist "leave behind" #2 a OS will take less time, less time equals to less pain. Also an OS can give you Nitrus....which is very nice!!

Wow three pages on dental!!!

tazlah · Post by **tazlah** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 11:06 pm

DEHog wrote:Wow three pages on dental!!!

Is this heaven for you?????

Redskin in Canada · Post by **Redskin in Canada** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 11:18 pm

tazlah wrote:
DEHog wrote:Wow three pages on dental!!!

Is this heaven for you?????

Actually, hog dental heaven.