<p>I had my first root canal one week ago today. Other than having to sit perfectly still for 90 minutes with all sorts of equipment clamped in my mouth and having to drive nearly 200 miles round trip to have it done, the proceedure went fine. The tooth in question was a molar next to a wisdom tooth, lower left side and this was a tooth that already had a crown. The day after the proceedure I went to my local dentist who repaired the hole made in the crown for the root canal. I was doing just great, the soreness getting a little less each day until day before yesterday. Monday I starting having soreness in the gum line and discomfort (pain) when I pushed on the crown. Called my local dentist who said to start on an antibiotic and give it a few days.</p>
<p>I was talking with my elderly neighbor who said, “Well, I was going to chalk you up as the first person I’ve ever known who didn’t have trouble after having a root canal - now I have to take you off that list. Everyone I know whose ever had one has had trouble afterwards”.</p>
<p>Please let me know what your root canal experience was like - any problems? If so, what did you do to remedy them? This is such a pain in the…mouth!</p>
<p>Ex-H got an infection after a root canal a few years ago. We had to cancel a vacation (were planning to go into Yellowstone for cross country skiing, decided going a 4 hour snow cat ride from the nearest dentist was not a good plan…). I am a very good flosser since observing his painful experience…</p>
<p>My D who is a college junior had to have one last month and after being very fearful came through with flying colors - I think she felt accomplished that she had conquered a major dental procedure!</p>
<p>I had one a couple of years ago and honestly didn’t have any problems afterward, but I would definitely say that followup (titanium post, crown, etc) was a lot more pesky and painful than the root canal itself. </p>
<p>I hope the rest of your recovery goes more smoothly.</p>
<p>I have had two root canals. The first was after my dentist tried to fill a deep filling and drilled all the way through my tooth. I was in a lot of pain before the root canal and afterward I had quite severe rebound pain for a few days. this is probably because my tooth was already really inflammed when I had the root canal done.
The second root canal was also after a filling and I had it done right away and had no problems at all. Both were performed by endodontists and both were molars.</p>
<p>Son – who unfortunately has dreadful teeth – has had three. No problems with any of them except for the need for an antibiotic in one instance, and that was not really a problem – he simply took it. If he were told today that he needed another root canal, he would not be worried – and he’s a very nervous person in general. The only problem for him has been the nuisance of multiple appointments.</p>
<p>Incidentally, all of these root canals were performed by a general dentist. He didn’t even go to an endodontist.</p>
<p>Two root canals. One about ten years ago, which is when I discovered that nitrous oxide has a weird effect on me: I could remember every minute of the root canal, but I lost an hour afterwards… couldn’t remember the drive home. And I was the driver.</p>
<p>The second one was about a year ago. No problems at all, and DH drove me home.</p>
<p>Our general dentists won’t do root canals on molars - too many canals I guess. Hence my trip out of town. </p>
<p>I am a faithful flosser for years and years! I asked my dentist why this happened to a tooth that already has a crown. His explanation was something along the lines of a tooth that has a crown has already had some sort of trauma anyway, and sometimes at some point the root just gives up and “dies” - lovely. </p>
<p>My am so envious of my childrens’ teeth - not a cavity or crown to be found. My dentist always says, “Oh don’t we wish we were born in the years of floride in the water!”</p>
<p>Maybe this is just rebound pain as JAMO4 mentions. I was so hopeful when the days immmediately following the proceedure had gone so well. The endodontist put me on Ibuprophen for a few days after the proceedure, so I started that again along with the antibiotic.</p>
<p>I had a root canal last May because my molar was cold sensitive and the dentist couldn’t get me numb enough to drill. She said the nerve was hypersensitive because of infection or inflammation and sent me to an endodontist for a root canal. After the lingual block my part of my tongue was numb for four months. The molar is still cold sensitive and the dentist still can’t get me numb enough to drill. And now on occasion the tooth actively aches. She said the endo must have missed part of the nerve and said I needed to go back for more. I don’t want to go back and risk having my tongue get numb again, and why should I go back to the endo who missed the nerve to begin with? I haven’t decided what to to yet.</p>
<p>First root canal, doctor blew a vein when he numbed me. I told them that it was going numb in strange places and felt like I was blowing up. They got funny looks on their faces, but didn’t tell me anything. They gave me an ice pack, and continued with the procedure. Afterward, they gave me very little info about it, so I was shocked when I got home and saw half my face swollen and distorted. I ran over to my dentist, who explained what was happening, and what to do. </p>
<p>Over the next few days I turned every shade of purple and yellow. As the swelling went down, the color increased. It started up by my eye, and slowly “sank” down to my jaw over the next week or so. I had to chaperone a band trip and it was the most humiliating experience of my life. People didn’t comment, or ask - they just looked away and avoided me. I had all sorts of snappy responses ready, and didn’t get to use them because no one would talk to me.</p>
<p>Plus, I couldn’t chew for days - and all the trip food was things like pizza. If the doc had given me a better idea of what was going to happen over the next few days, I would have bailed on the trip.</p>
<p>I also had a tooth pulled, and got a dry socket. That’s another story. Pain meds, a 10 hour flight to Germany, and a rocky landing didn’t bode well for my seat mate. I hate dental work.</p>
<p>I had a root canal a few years ago and I came out of it with no ill effects. However, I wasn’t able to save the tooth because it cracked six months later and I ended up having to have an implant–which was a much bigger ordeal than the implant.</p>
<p>One of my back lower molars cracked, and I needed a root canal. The (regular) dentist made me come back 3 times for the root canals because he said there were 3 ‘roots’ that needed to be done since it was a molar, and its too much to do all 3 at once. Anybody else experience this? It seemed stupid to me to have to go through all that 3 separate times (then the appointment for the crown)</p>
<p>wellspring, are you by chance a redhead? There has been a recent study published about reheads and pain sensitivity, particularly in dental procedures - I’m a rehead, so it is interesting - many don’t respond to the pain meds in the same way as non-reheads, they have even possible linked this to a particular gene. The anecdotes they gave included people regaining feeling in the middle of their root canal. I haven’t had THAT happen, but I often have to have more than one shot for dental work, and despite that the numbness usually wears off soon after the dentist is finished.</p>
<p>The rebound pain is interesting, too, I’ve had one root canal, and basically it didn’t work immediately, I continued to have the same pain for 3-4 months afterward, and it only gradually disappeared. I felt an upper crown was more painful than my root canal, although again, when the numbness wore off before I could get home after the RC, I had one very intense episode of pain - i pre-medicate myself with Motrin or Alleve now. The very worst thing about The RC, though, was the big cotton pledget they put between my gum and cheek to absorb blood, etc while they are working. Redheads also have relatively thin, delicate mucous membranes, and the pledget caused a mouth ulcer that was about 1/2 inch long, but felt like the Grand Canyon - ouch!</p>
<p>Nope, not a redhead–dark brown till it became mostly gray. My dentist blames the inefficacy of the novacaine on advancing age (mine, not the novacaine’s). Certainly it wasn’t an issue till I was over 45. (Dentist is the same age as me, so she can say things like that. I don’t take that kind of remark as well from my 30 year old PCP!)</p>
<p>I had a root canal for a cracked molar. The tooth was extremely painful before the root canal and while the pain decreased somewhat afterwards it was years before I was pain free in that tooth. I am still afraid to chew cold foods on that side of my mouth even though I generally don’t have pain there any more. But the memory is still there and the tooth is still somewhat sensitive to cold. I decided not to go back for more treatment and just live with it. It has definitely gotten better but not completely pain free.</p>
<p>My husband has had several root canals with no problems whatsoever.</p>
<p>I’ve had 7 root canals. I’ve been told that it is likely due to a really bad bite and that repeated impact (from biting) on poorly aligned teeth causes long term damage to the nerves in your teeth (this after 7 years of braces, honestly). Mine have been associated with dying nerves, not rotting teeth.</p>
<p>I’ve had an endodontist do each of mine and never had any infections at all. One ended up being much more complicated that usualy (and you don’t want the details). The pain you have may be related to the injections for the anesthetic.</p>
<p>That’s a good point DA, I did have SEVERAL injections - a couple on each side of the gum, 2-3 in the cheek, and when I told him I still had feeling, I got a couple more!! To me that is always the worse part. I was just really encouraged when I was getting along so well, then to have pain start Monday night sort of threw me for a loop.</p>
<p>I don’t know if this is an infection or not. I could tell my dentist’s receptionist did not want to add another patient to the schedule yesterday and just relayed my symptoms to the dentist. Her actual reply was, “you could have your husband (who is a physician) put you on an antibiotic for a couple of days and keep us posted. The antibiotic won’t hurt you”. !!??!?!</p>
<p>I just didn’t want to have something bad going on and not be doing anything about it. My husband looked around in my mouth, saw some mild redness of the gum, nothing else - but, he’s not a dentist. I will stick with the antibiotic more than “a couple of days” and stay on the Advil.</p>
<p>Perhaps root canals are a gender-specific experience. I’ve had many over the years without problems, the first three or four by different dentists and the remainder by a really excellent endodontist.</p>
<p>I “went under” for one, only to wake up and learn it couldn’t be saved. This was after starting the process of getting a crown, only to find the crown would not solve the problem of a crack in the tooth, because the crack was two deep. Crown was already bought and paid for, and now hangs on a chain around my neck; my most expensive jewelry ( joking…about wearing it around my neck…).This was followed by the first step in the oral implant process. I had no idea how little my dental insurance covered. </p>
<p>I have an appointment in 10 minutes for another cracked molar.</p>
<p>HarrietMWelsch; care to share your implant story?</p>
<p>" I could tell my dentist’s receptionist did not want to add another patient to the schedule yesterday and just relayed my symptoms to the dentist. Her actual reply was, “you could have your husband (who is a physician) put you on an antibiotic for a couple of days and keep us posted. The antibiotic won’t hurt you”. !!??!?!"</p>
<p>I got a similar response, although she suggested I could write my own rx, since I am a physician! When I asked how the recommendation was being arrived at, she took another message…</p>