Root Canal Therapy

[DynamiteRave]

I haven't been to the dentist yet but I'm about 90% sure I'm gonna have to have one just from reading the symptoms comparing them to mine. My tooth hurts whenever I eat and sometimes when I bite down, but the pain comes and goes which leads me to believe that my infection isn't as bad as some peoples. I've heard people complain about being in constant excruciating pain and their jaw hurting and their gum swelling and I don't have any of that. Yet. Which I think is a good thing because I'm hoping it means my infection hasn't progressed very far. (I've been complaining about tooth pain for about a month and a half now)

Well I'm scheduling an appointment for sometime in the beginning of March and I am a HUGE baby when it comes to pain. I've been trying to read around on the net to see what people say about the pain DURING the procedure. I'm not so afraid of pain after. In fact I'm kinda expecting it. But I figure it can't be any worse than when I had to have 6-8 (I forgot how many) teeth extracted (including some adult ones) Back when I was 14 and had to have braces put on. That shit sucked. I cried like a baby during the procedure and as soon as the Novocaine and laughing gas wore off. So like I said, it can't get much worse than that.

So for you guys who've had root canal therapy, how painful was the procedure for you?

[Beemnseven]

If you have pain in the upper jaw, just remember that there are sinus cavities up there. So if you've recently had a cold that could be what's causing the discomfort. Especially if it's not constant pain.

That's what happened with me anyway.

[fja711]

Good indications that a tooth needs a root canal are if heat makes the tooth throb or ache, if it wakes you up a night, or if chewing on it causes a toothache. If the tooth is senstive to cold and only hurts when you bite just right but does not cause a lingering tooth ache (sharpe pain that hurts only for the instant), you probably don't need a root canal but probably need a crown. In that case, the diagnosis would be a cracked tooth rather than a dead tooth.

[DynamiteRave]

Originally Posted by fja711

Good indications that a tooth needs a root canal are if heat makes the tooth throb or ache, if it wakes you up a night, or if chewing on it causes a toothache. If the tooth is senstive to cold and only hurts when you bite just right but does not cause a lingering tooth ache (sharpe pain that hurts only for the instant), you probably don't need a root canal but probably need a crown. In that case, the diagnosis would be a cracked tooth rather than a dead tooth.

Caution: I am kinda wasted so if what I'm saying makes no sense, Ill type it again later. Haha.

But it hurts whenever I eat pretty much except soft foods. Heat doesn't do anything and Cold is a crap shoot: sometimes it hurts sometimes it doesn't. Eating solid foods tend to cause a lingering tooth ache that soon subsides, but on the regular it doesn't hurt. But the hole where the filling is/was looks terrible.

[fja711]

You probably need a root canal. Then after that a crown.

[RobH4413]

The actual root canal process doesn't hurt at all.

It's a little weird if your squemish... because they're literally hacking away at dead tooth for a while, and then replace it with a crown.

You'll be in far worse pain if you don't get it done... and after the procedure... the pain killer will help. Good luck my friend.

[doxiechic12000]

There is no pain involved with a root canal other than your jaw being sore after the procedure from having it hang wide open for so long. Suck it up and just get it taken care of, you don't want to have BillyBob teeth.

[DynamiteRave]

So what are the chances of me needing an extraction? I know you guys can't make a diagnosis but I was wondering if that depended on the severity of the infection?

Btw, I'm making the appointment tomorrow. I don't wanna wait till the pain gets bad enough that I wish someone would just kick me in the face so I could forget about my tooth and focus on my face.