2. "Nothin like having no choice BUT to see a dentist." In response to Reply # 0
I swear everybody my age lives in cowering fear of that chair. What were they doin to us in the 80s? I went a couple weeks ago and it was a breeze. I had a cracked tooth and they fixed it in seconds. I agonized over it for days. Smh.
I hope your procedure goes smoothly, but if you had terrible experiences as a kid and they make you nervous now, it probably won't be as bad as you expect. So be encouraged.
18. "I had a different experience" In response to Reply # 2
I loved going to the dentist as a kid. Loved my dentist, thought it was cool to get out of school, etc.
As I get older, though, my teeth get more and more sensitive. I've started dreading getting my teeth cleaned. And I have a lovely dentist. But there were a couple of mishaps that may have been no one's fault and may have been my dentist's partner's fault, but led directly to a root canal... so... yeah... no, I'm not jumping into the dentist's chair eagerly.
~ ~ ~ All meetings end in separation All acquisition ends in dispersion All life ends in death - The Buddha
took a hockey stick to the mouth about a month and a half before I had it. My gums above the k9 on my right side was tender but didnt really hurt much. The tooth felt fine. I figured I dodged a bullet. About a month later I am eating dinner and was chewing on a piece of soft ass broccoli. I felt it break off. It didnt hurt but it felt weird. Out came 2 big ass pieces of my tooth. Went to the dentist a week later and he said I had an infection and would need a root canal. He said what probably happened was the tooth cracked and for the next few weeks saliva got in and infected the nerve. He said it should have been bothering me. But I have a high pain tolerance and didnt feel shit.
Root canal was no big deal. It took forever. A few shots and I was completely numb. Didnt feel a thing. It took about 2.5 hours total. But it was a lot of waiting around. Like they went in and drilled and cleaned the infection. Then stuck some shit into your nerves. That took 20 minutes or so. Then let that sit for 10 minutes. Then came back and trimmed those down and put the screws in and filled in the hole. That was another 15 minutes or so. Then waiting for the filling to harden. Then x-rays and a mold so they can make the crown. Then more waiting. Then they grind off around your teeth so the crown can be put on. By now the crown is done being cooked and is cooling off. Wait a few more minutes. Then they put it on to make sure it fits. If it fits they cement it on. More x-rays. Then you are done.
On a scale of 1-10 for pain it was a 1. But I have a high tolerance for pain. My doc kept saying I was amazing sitting through everything. So I guess some people feel something. It was expensive though. My insurance sucks. I basically get all preventative shit free. But only $1000 a year for anything else above a cavity. So the $1000 paid for my procedure. I had to come out of pocket $770 for the crown. But I got the best one they had to offer. There were cheaper ones.
November 8th, 2005 The greatest night in the history of GD!
6. "we were just playing in the drive way" In response to Reply # 5
working on his puck handling, shooting, and passing. Then he wanted to play 1 on 1 and high stick. I always make him wear his helmet w/ cage when we play. First thing he says is you should have wore a helmet.
November 8th, 2005 The greatest night in the history of GD!
4. "I have had a couple, they vary in severity/complicatedness/recovery time" In response to Reply # 0
Depending where the tooth is and how the root is situated (depth, how many prongs, etc) you could be ranging from a relatively painless procedure with a half day of recovery time to something that is trying and might have you feeling "off" for a couple days.
Get it done ASAP though because if it gets too deep you will need an oral surgery known as "crown lengthening" where you get a deep-ass root canal and then they cut away bone and gum to give you a stronger foundation for a crown. Yup, it's just as fun as it sounds!
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
9. "Yeah front teeth are like a filling, back teeth are the root canals " In response to Reply # 4
You've been warned about your whole life. If it's a back tooth, I'd plan a few days of not doing much to ice, be on pain meds, and swollen and get a probiotic plan in action before they give you the antibiotics. As soon as I stopped being swollen and in pain I got the flu most likely cause my immune system was wiped out by the antibiotics. I spent a total of two weeks on the couch.
7. "got 2 a few years ago. didnt feel a thing on either one" In response to Reply # 0
whole process took like 2 hours. the one on my right side was a piece of cake. the one on the left was bad & i needed a crown lengthening to get everything right. basically they had to cut some of the gum out so they could get the crown in there nice & tidy. the healing process on that suuuuucked. right side was a piece of cake though, they gave me enough pain meds to ease the pain & swelling went almost completely down after a day or 2. any amount of pain after was NOTHING compared to the pain i had before i got it done though so its all worth it.
>I had a fractured tooth a few months ago, which the dentist >put a partial onlay over. > >He said there's would be a chance I'd need a root canal. > >This weekend has been headache and tooth pain, so I guess a >root canal is coming. > >They're expensive but I think the pain will all go away. > >Who's had one? What should I expect? >
The noises are loud but you're okay once you realize it is noise without pain. If anything hurts, don't try to be gangster! Say 'hey..this hurts'. Sell that shit like a character on Punch Out. That way, they can be sure they shot you up properly. Worst case scenario, you have a 'live nerve' that won't calm down and you have to do it over. Take your pain pills on-time. You'll thank yourself for getting it done.
I had two done when before I got out of the Navy in 2001. Also, mine was done at the Navy Postgraduate Dental School in Bethesda, MD. That may have factored into my experience.
If I remember correctly, it took them two visits to do each tooth. Maybe the worst pain I can remember. Felt like hours in the chair of pretty constant pain. They weren't able to numb me up properly for whatever reason. They also said I have curved roots, which makes it more complicated.
With all that said, I didn't have to pay for any of it.
11. "You should get a second opinion." In response to Reply # 0
Root Canals are dentist pay checks. I've had good dentists save me from Root canal's when other's would have been gung ho to do them. Read up on this, and get another opinion.
He did the root canal on the tooth with the partial only.
The thing that really got me in pain was that my tooth would hut when my blood pressure went up during exercise. So I couldn't go to the gym or hike until this was done.
Took about 2 hours.
Pain: Sharp pains several times when removing the nerve.
He took his time and stopped and gave an extra injection but there was still some pain. About 90 seconds total pain in the two hours, but none that were worse than the pain I had been experiencing when chewing.
So $671 later I'm hoping that fixes the issue.
He says it may be sore for a few days and try to avoid biting down hard on it for 3-4 days.
16. "Just had one about 2 weeks ago. They had to needle me 4 times..." In response to Reply # 0 Tue Mar-24-15 08:52 PM by BlassFemur
before they could get in there cause I was feeling everything.
I had an infected nerve and it was probably the worst pain I've had, pre-root canal. I broke the tooth in half like a year ago eating popcorn, and bite down on one of those un=popped seeds. I didn't feel shit when I had the procedure though cause they numbed my whole left side.
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