Having another Root Canal, not sure what to do :(

[ilostmynewunicorn]

Hello everyone,

By the ending of May I had 2 nights with a very very bad pain on my tooth and I was told I had an infected tooth that need a Root Canal and that I should schedule ASAP otherwise I would only manage to get an appt. by August. I ended up being too afraid to schedule

The reason I'm so scared is because I had a Root Canal, with my general dentist, that's semi-finished already and I didn't like it for 2 main reasons:

1. On the first appt, where the actual treatment takes place, the second injection sent me flying off the table. It was a pretty massive pain. After that I didn't feel anything else, but just imagining that needle going into my mouth again makes me shake and start to cry, let alone the feeling that follows.

2. On the second appt (to reshape the tooth), after the pulp being removed, I had a panic attack because it caused me huge pain, even worse than the first time. My dentist had to close the tooth with a temporary filling and sent me home. Part of this temporary filling (on the side) fell off 1.5 weeks ago and I still haven't set the courage to go there just to have it replaced.

Point being, my last Root Canal was a very bad experience, and it isn't over yet. I don't know if I have it in me to take another one. I am seriously considering doing it under GA despite the death risk.

My question is, do you think an endo would make things better? I don't know, can we just skip that injection or inject it somewhere less painful or something? Or is that 2nd injection a must? because if I'm going to have a second injection, I'd rather do the procedure at my regular dentist, because by August she will have laughing gas, and maybe that helps a bit.

As another side question: does taking an ipobrufen or something similar help with this injection pain at all?
Thanks everyone!

 

[FearfulInMA]

I've had 4 RCT's that were all done by (different) endodontists. They were all on back teeth where I have found injections to be most uncomfortable. However, the injections done by the endodontists were all completely painless. They also were able to get me more numb than I had previously been for fillings on those teeth so I felt no pain at all during the procedure.

I usually take ibuprofen right after, but just as a precaution in case there is some pain after the numbness wears off. For 3 out of the 4 I was totally pain free afterwards also. The 4th was on a tooth that was way further gone than the others so I think it took a bit longer to settle down.

I hope this is helpful information.

 

[ilostmynewunicorn]

I've had 4 RCT's that were all done by (different) endodontists. They were all on back teeth where I have found injections to be most uncomfortable. However, the injections done by the endodontists were all completely painless. They also were able to get me more numb than I had previously been for fillings on those teeth so I felt no pain at all during the procedure.

I usually take ibuprofen right after, but just as a precaution in case there is some pain after the numbness wears off. For 3 out of the 4 I was totally pain free afterwards also. The 4th was on a tooth that was way further gone than the others so I think it took a bit longer to settle down.

I hope this is helpful information.

It is, thanks. I'm ok with the injections being uncomfortable or even slightly painful, but it's another different story to have acute pain out of nowhere (I especially hate it when doctors are fully aware that it will be painful, but somehow decide it's better if they don't tell the patient anything and hurt him out of the blue).

I'll drop by a dental clinic tomorrow or the day after and ask for a "meet-up" session with their endo, no strings attached (not sure if I'm supposed to pay for it or if they'll just fill in a blank somewhere for free). Also gonna request a "If I decide not to continue treatment because I'm under severe stress I expect to be allowed to do so" basis like I have with my general dentist.

 

[marco]

Only injection that trully hurts is for top front tooth and it can't be avoided. All other are just not that painful unless dentist is being an asshole and injects too fast. Just ask them to inject slowly because you are sensiteve to pain.My issue is that I always expect some horrific pain(imagine injection pain times 20) because I felt it and I I'm afraid to experiance it again so my head would shake uncontrolably expecting that pain. So my dentist takes extra care and I can tell you if done properly you should be able to mange it.

Brufen won't help here it doesn't work like that.

My dentist constantly ask if I need some rest even if its realativly short procedure so maybe stuff like that can help you with your stress. better that then just giving up and going home. You can always stop treatment at any dentist no one is forcing you. It is not soemthing you request you always have that option.

 

[ilostmynewunicorn]

Thanks everyone for the great answers

Unfortunately I still haven't gone there yet it's a private clinic that is a bit far from where I live and my car's engine is broken right now, and they had to open it and it's getting fixed, but right now I have no means of getting there. And it's also a 2-hour walk on a very intensely hot day.

I've never been at an endo before, what do you think will happen? My dentist refuses to take X-rays, she just starts working on the tooth and only then does she decide how to proceed. That's what happened last time. She also doesn't recommend me to someone else, she does everything by herself even if she doesn't have the proper experience. For example a friend of mine was supposed to have his wisdom tooth removed by her, but at the last hour he switched to another one, who then sent him off to a private clinic on another city for a professional oral surgery because there some problems with the location of the tooth or something.

Am I not supposed to take X-rays with me before I visit an endo? What happens if I don't need a Root Canal (which seems unlikely since the tooth hurts when I bite, gum is swollen and painful, etc, but still nobody has told me "You need a Root Canal". I asked my dentist and she said she didn't know but still didn't take X-rays or anything)? What happens if I need an extraction (the tooth only started seriously hurting 1 month ago, but it had already hurt a few times since January, where I couldn't even eat with it because of the pain - my dentist said it wasn't a big deal - so now my worst fears is that the extraction is spreading or on the verge of spreading).
Also, can I ask for a pre-work visit just to talk to the endo for 5 or 10 minutes and get comfortable with him? Am I supposed to pay for a full appt. for these?
Thanks again