• Dental Phobia Support

    Welcome! This is an online support group for anyone who is has a severe fear of the dentist or dental treatment. Please note that this is NOT a general dental problems or health anxiety forum! You can find a list of them here.

    Register now to access all the features of the forum.

1st root canal anxiety & ruptured abscess

W

wraoursy

Junior member
Joined
Jan 2, 2021
Messages
9
Location
Abu Dhabi
Hello all,
So for the past 3 days I’ve been experiencing some of the worst teeth pain in my life. Yesterday it got all together too much and I went for the emergency visit to my preferred dental clinic. The doctor that previously helped me somehow overcome my anxiety with her gentle approach is now on maternity leave so I had to see another doctor. Overall it went ok, she’s done the x ray and told me I need a root canal cause of a deep filling in the tooth I had previously done. She showed me on the X Ray there was a very thin somewhat darker line around the whole tooth, but she didn’t sound really sure. May be I’m being paranoid. Regardless of that she referred me to a different doctor to get the RCT done today or tomorrow, that counts as a second opinion I guess?

Also last night, I was in terrible pain, taking double doses of Advil, started a course of antibiotics too. But at night I felt my gum line on the side of the tooth and one side of the roof of my mouth really swell a lot, and then I woke up drenched in sweat, the swelling was somewhat gone and now there’s a weird tiny hole/dent on the gum above the tooth. I guess it’s ruptured. I feel so much better now, but I know the issue is not resolved.

So in preparation for my first RCT I have a few questions:
1. Is there any possibility that I don’t need the RCT done and it’s just more of a gum issue? (sorry if I sound ridiculous)
2. I was very happy to read the successful stories here, however I was browsing the topic all over and I’ve read that some people still had sharp nerve pain during the procedure. How likely is that to happen that no amount of numbing will help with the nerve pain? I’m very worried that I’ll jump up or move suddenly if this kind of sharp pain occurs.
3. Overall I feel terrible going to the doctor I’ve never met before and doing the RCT with them right away (I do understand the urgency though). Yesterday my legs were shaking, I couldn’t stop crying and I feel like I was on the verge of a panic attack. I’ve coped with a few fillings before just fine, so is the RCT indeed not so different from a filling (from a patient side of view).

Thank you so much!
 
1. Is there any possibility that I don’t need the RCT done and it’s just more of a gum issue? (sorry if I sound ridiculous)
Doesn't sound like it, no. Not being ridiculous, it's always worth asking if you're not sure.

2. I was very happy to read the successful stories here, however I was browsing the topic all over and I’ve read that some people still had sharp nerve pain during the procedure. How likely is that to happen that no amount of numbing will help with the nerve pain? I’m very worried that I’ll jump up or move suddenly if this kind of sharp pain occurs.
It's pretty unlikely if the abscess has burst into your mouth. I can't be bothered to type out all the reasons, sorry!


3. Overall I feel terrible going to the doctor I’ve never met before and doing the RCT with them right away (I do understand the urgency though). Yesterday my legs were shaking, I couldn’t stop crying and I feel like I was on the verge of a panic attack. I’ve coped with a few fillings before just fine, so is the RCT indeed not so different from a filling (from a patient side of view).
I've had 2 as a patient, a bit longer than a filling but otherwise no different really.
 
@Gordon Thank you so much for your answers!

As for the abscess I really have no idea what happened, cause now slowly the feeling of pressure and swelling is coming back. So if the abscess is present, should I expect some pain during the procedure?
 
No, not really, it's only a problem where there is a lot of infection around the root, it sounds like yours will drain out again if it starts building up more.
 
@Gordon thank you for taking your time to answer. I appreciate it a lot. I had my first part of the root canal done yesterday, it wasn’t as scary as I thought and I did okay. However, the doctor was really rushing towards the end, didn’t really check if the temporary filling was fitting well and didn’t give me any specific instructions. I honest feel terrible about that part.
Now I can’t really close my teeth as the filling is so high and I’m worried that I might clench my teeth in my sleep and make it worse.
I’m supposed to come back in 2 weeks so I’m wondering if I should bother my doctor with this or it’s okay for 2 weeks?
 
Most temp fillings are really soft and will wear down quite quickly. Just eat and drink as normal on it and don't worry about it. Clenching on it will just make it wear faster :-)
 
Back
Top