At least 2 root canals on front teeth and absolutely dreadified

[Eco1]

I made that word up;"dreadified" - to better summarize how I feel right now

I initially had 4 fillings a couple of weeks ago after being in some serious pain, which went relatively well despite nearly being sick when she started the injections. Well after that the pain went away completely, but then a week or so after that however I noticed a small bump on my front gum then another right under the top lip. Great.

Just got back from my appointment on this and the dentist said that it was an obvious infection in at least 2 teeth and that RCT would be the only option besides extraction.

I about died having the fillings. I have no idea how am I going to endure (at minimum) 2 RCT's

It sounds really stupid I know, but part of me thinks that having the teeth removed is actually less scary, even though aesthetically it will look terrible being the top front and will do wonders for my already low self-confidence.

I just don't know what to do.

 

[FearfulInMA]

Hi and welcome (I don't think I've seen you post before)!

I've had 4 root canals (5 if you count the retreatment). I can honestly say that, though the anxiety beforehand (especially before the first one) sent me into full blown panic attack, the RCT itself was no worse than a filling - just longer and with way less drilling. A lot of people on here find them easier than fillings because they are so much quieter. If you're in pain from the infection/abscess, the good news is you should have significant relief immediately after the RCT.

Aesthetics aside, you are almost always better off trying to save your natural teeth. Are there things in particular that you're worried about with the RCTs? Are there questions that you have (please don't google... there are so many of us here who can help without you having to be scared further)?

 

[Eco1]

Hi FearfulInMA, thank you for your reply.

I am trying to comfort myself slightly by reminding myself that I was all over the place with the fillings and after it was all said and done, I was left pleasantly surprised at how painless the whole procedure was (minus the stabby at the start which was horrible but very quick).

If I was going in for another round of fillings then I don't think I would be too worried but because it's a new treatment I am just unsure of what to expect... I didn't have any difficulty being numbed up before and these are the same teeth that are being worked on, so it's safe to assume that it will be the same?

I have a big anxiety when it comes to dentists in general but the length of the treatment really bothers me and I have to have two? That could mean like 4 hours in the chair and I don't know if I can sit through that What if the anesthetic wears off? And the swelling prevents it from working?

 

[FearfulInMA]

You sound A LOT like me! I have a success story on here and can find the link if you're interested.

A couple of thoughts... first, top teeth are generally very easy to numb. And, if the numbing starts to wear off, you can just ask for more anesthetic. You shouldn't feel additional injections because you will still mostly be numb. That said, dentists can use different anesthetic depending on the length and type of procedure. An infection could make it more difficult for the anesthetic to work, but if your dentist thought this would be an issue s/he would have prescribed an antibiotic. Dentists are also have different types of anesthetic/techniques they can use if you're having trouble getting numb. Getting numb (or rather not being able to get numb) was a HUGE fear of mine because I wasn't able to get fully numb for the fillings/crowns that preceded 2 of my RCTs, but for the RCTs, I was very, very numb.

Having said all this, a root canal on a front tooth may take less than an hour. If you're most worried about the time in The Chair, could you ask for 2 separate appointments (one for each tooth or one to clean out the canals and one to fill them)? My issue isn't the time in the chair because the worst part for me is how anxious o get beforehand, but I know that dentist's are almost always willing to accommodate a request for shorter appointments as long as it doesn't interfere with treatment.

Do you have an appt for the RCTs? How can we support you to get through this?

 

[Eco1]

Hi FearfulInMA - thanks again for taking the time to respond. I appreciate it so much.

I didn't mention in my initial post but I was prescribed amoxicillin and have to go back in 2 weeks for a check up.

I actually had a different dentist this time as I wanted to get in ASAP and he didn't do any x-rays or anything, just looked at the previous x-rays before the filling (which showed no sign of infection). I have to go to the second appt to actually be examined 'properly'. He said that it was 'obvious' what it was though and seemed pretty clear that at least 2 RCT's would be needed and quite possibly an extraction also of another front tooth that was broken in half about 8 years ago.

It could be another 4 weeks before I actually have an appt for the procedure which is way too much time for me to get seriously worked up over it all. I have a rather mentally demanding job and I have no idea how i'm going to get through it

The abscess / swelling under my top lip is quite big and interferes slightly with my speech at present - really worried also what i will do if that gets any worse.