I have lots of dental horror stories, but my root canal story is good. I had a very bad tooth infection which came on quickly, and of course on a Friday night. It was the worst pain of my life. The root canal reports had me panic stricken, but that root canal was the most pain relief I’ve ever had.
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Is the root canal on a tooth that already has a crown?
I had one root canal done to a molar that already had a crown. Endodontist drilled through the crown and then just put a filling on top, this was 10+ yrs ago. The crown needs to be replaced because the seal with the filling is breaking down.
Beside the possible pain, what would be the harm/ complication in waiting until you had pain to get the root canal for that tooth?
You can go to work, but I wouldn’t want to until the anesthetic wears off. In theory, there really isn’t that much pain, because the root canal stops the pain. But your mouth will probably feel bashed up. Ugh, I hated my root canal procedure. Good luck with yours.
Me too! I wouldn’t wish one on my worst enemy 
Actually I think I just had a bad dentist. I tried to tell him I wasn’t even completely numb and he kept plugging along. I went home and was in agony. That same tooth ended up having to be pulled down the road. I said if I ever need one again I will just go ahead and get it pulled instead.
So my lesson is make sure you have a good dentist. The specialist that pulled my tooth was excellent.
Is there some reason why you can’t or don’t want to take the whole day off?
I’ve had a couple of root canals. No pain but I was just ready to go home and relax afterword.
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I went to an endodontist, not a dentist. That might have made a difference?
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So did I. I still took the day off.
I mentioned that more for the pain during the procedure vs time off.
Yes, I believe so. I went to an endodontist for having my tooth removed and they put the cadaver (eek) bone in there until to hold the spot open. It was a great experience. \
Regular old (and I mean age =old) dentist for a root canal and it was pure torture!
The root canal I just had was in a tooth that had a crown, and I got a temporary filling good for 3 weeks. My dentist applied a regular filling over the top, I think (I didn’t ask and wasn’t really paying attention). It went super-fast, just a few minutes.
My dentist said if there were cracks in the crown from the endo, they’d replace the whole crown, but fortunately it was a clean job so I didn’t have to.
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I have had more than my share of crowns and root canals. Last root canal was through an existing crown (IMO,IIRC that was easier b/c it didn’t require a temporary crown and a return visit). Root canals are really no big deal. The root is dead so shouldn’t hurt. The biggest “pain” is that rubber dam that covers your mouth. Unpleasant but not uncomfortable/not painful. Just have to keep your mouth open for a long time! .
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I should get one of those buy 10 get one free cards for root canal. While definitely not an experience I prefer, it’s not horrific. Having your mouth open with that rubber dam is unpleasant, but you also get mini breaks while they mill the crown etc. As others have said, it’s the sound of the drill more than anything. Huge fan of lidocaine!
I tend to take it easy the rest of the day, mostly because I’m usually so numb that I’m hard to understand and I’m afraid I’ll be drooling in public!
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lidocaine or novocaine?
@jym626 could be either. He’s used both.
Novocaine hasn’t been used since the 80s. Lidocaine is very commonly used.
If you need a root canal, please get it done. The RC horror stories are people who wait too long, have great pain, or are too infected and their tooth is hard to get completely numb. Most root canals go well; you don’t hear about those, because it’s not a story.
Teeth that need root canals don’t always hurt and aren’t always dead. An abscess can show up on an X-ray without the tooth being painful. Teeth that are painful have a highly inflamed nerve.
The worst thing about a root canal is thinking about it. After the first, and most go very well, the second is far less stressful. You should be able to return to work that day. Not many RCs are done with sedation. 90-95% of all root canals are successful. With the use of dental microscopes, the success improves as the endodontist can more easily find the 4th canal in upper first molars (missing it is often the cause of failures).
After the root canal, you may have no pain or it may be sore for a month to chewing, PLUS anything in between these two extremes. All normal, and each tooth in your mouth may respond differently. If you need a crown, get it done. I like to wait 2 weeks, but I’ll do it sooner if your tooth is cracked. There’s not much worse than you waiting too long and you break the tooth beyond repair. That money you paid is wasted, and now you are looking at a implant.
I have many root canals in my mouth. I was heavily restored as a teenager and now I pay the price. The most painful tooth before the RC had no pain after, the not painful at all tooth gave me the most problem after. Each one had different symptoms and different responses.
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I’ve had one root canal and while I wouldn’t say it was easy, it turned out not to be painful and went well. For me, the key to any dental procedure is always how good the dentist/endodontist is with a needle. I think a dentist either has the touch (i.e., you don’t feel a thing) or not. I wonder if dentists learn injection techniques in dental school.
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Thank you, very helpful information.
They do indeed. When I was a poor grad student at Penn, the only way that I could afford dental care was to be a “practice patient” at the dental school. My student had trouble with the needle one day and the professor called the whole class over to watch how he did it.
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I have had my share of cavities, root canals, crowns and one implant (our house had well water). I’ve always thought that root canals were easier than having a cavity filled.