Filling /a possible root canal- terrified

[Jess obrien]

Hello so i have a dental phobia and haven’t gone to the dentist in 5 years. In the past few months i’ve been experiencing bad pain in my upper right molar and i couldn’t take the pain any longer so i finally went to the dentist for a checkup.
In the checkup, they found that i have a cavity that is pretty deep and they said i might need a root canal, and they’ll only know if a root canal is needed when they drill the tooth. I’m super scared of the numbing shots and wanted to ask- would i need to get an injection in the roof of my mouth for that kind of cavity? I heard that those are super painful.
Also i’m so anxious about possibly needing a root canal and i’m really thinking of canceling my appointment. Is it super bad if i don’t go? maybe the pain will go away on it’s own? Apart from that tooth, my teeth are fine…

 

[Gordon]

I’m super scared of the numbing shots and wanted to ask- would i need to get an injection in the roof of my mouth for that kind of cavity? I heard that those are super painful.

No you wouldn't.
They aren't that painful though, I mean compared to standing on a lego brick they're nothing (Guess who had the grandkids staying this weekend!).

Is it super bad if i don’t go? maybe the pain will go away on it’s own?

It won't. Delaying it will mean you're more likely to need a root canal than not, so seems a bit counter productive?
(Root canals are really not that bad, a bit like a very slow filling, have a read on here for some first hand experiences.)

 

[Jess obrien]

@Gordon hahaha! coming from a kindergarten teacher, i know the pain of stepping on lego
But yeah, i guess i’m scared of not knowing what will happen at the appointment. I don’t know if i would have to go through a root canal or a deep filling, i don’t know if i will get 1 injection or 4 injections for that matter…
As for the root canal, I’ve had that done about 6 years ago and it wasn’t a nice experience at all. I was 17 then (23 now) and i was forced to go and “dragged” to the dentist office each time i had to go. I always had a phobia of the dentist but ever since then, i avoided the dentist at all costs and now all i remember is how awful it was to be there.
I also really need a cleaning and i noticed i have stains and plaque on my teeth… I’m scared of the cleaning being painful because of it (attached some photos of the stains on my teeth and my last root canal- does it look discolored or am i freaking out for no reason?)

 

[Gordon]

@Gordon hahaha! coming from a kindergarten teacher, i know the pain of stepping on lego

It'd bring a tear to a glass eye as my mother used to say

I don’t know if i would have to go through a root canal or a deep filling, i don’t know if i will get 1 injection or 4 injections for that matter…

1 most likely, 2 at worst.

The staining doesn't look too bad, cleaning it off should not be a big deal, most of it will shift with a dental polishing brush and our extra abrasive paste stuff.
The root canal tooth is OK, they quite often darken a bit over time as they no longer have a blood supply.
You might want to think about a crown on it though, they can get quite brittle after RCT and can break badly if you're unlucky. Because of the root canal, you'd not need any local for a crown there...