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How long can I wait for part two of root canal?

E

ExtremeFear

Junior member
Joined
Jul 24, 2013
Messages
19
I had an emergency RCT part one last Friday. The military base sent me to a civilian endo who does not use IV sedation, so the base prescribed me Triazolam (Halcion) 2 x .25mg which surprisingly worked having an amnesia effect similar to IV.

The civilian endo wanted me back within 2 weeks however.... there is a shortage of Triazolam right from the manufacturer right now!!! Argh! So obviously I can't go back to get it done. The pharmacy says the estimate is at least July!!!!

None of the other oral drugs work to cause amnesia... I have had ativan before for laser eye surgery and it did not do anything to remove memory of the surgery... or even for my nerves for that matter! My base oral surgeon did ask the pharmacy about oral versed (midazolam) but they said its not available in oral form here.

So my question is, can I wait until July with only a temporary filling in the partially done root canal??

This endo was not even happy with my having oral sedation with me. He was placating me when I said I could not go through the procedure without sedation saying "you can, you just won't allow yourself" Meanwhile he had a huge needle in his hand. As it were, the only part I DO remember after taking the oral sedation WAS the needles as they were extremely painful!!! I definitely could not do that without being under sedation... I mean the needles hurt so much they actually snapped me OUT of the sedation briefly!!! And he wanted to force me to experience that fully conscious and aware! So I KNOW he won't be too happy with me saying I can't finish the procedure until triazolam comes back in stock!!

I don't know what to do!

He doesn't even offer nitrous oxide! In fact, the only thing his nurse said they ever have allowed there was ativan or valium, neither of which put you into that amnesia state.
 
That is awful that they aren't able to give you the meds you need for the procedure.

I have to share my story of what happened when I didn't go for the crown/ last part of root canal.

I am not saying this will happen to you nor am I trying to scare you. But I put off going and the tooth I had the root canal done on broke off at the gumline while I was eating bread. I cried, especially since it is a top tooth, not too far from the front :(

Maybe a dentist will have some words of wisdom for how to make yours stay in one piece. I am sad that I wasted the money for the root canal and had the tooth break off. It was totally my fault but it still stinks :(

Good luck and I hope they can get you the medicine you need to complete your treatment!
 
I am not worried about the tooth braking off... there was actually no decay - no cavity... and no filling in it! The reason I need it root canal was because I somehow caused it trauma (hit it into the bone, killing the blood supply and thereby killing the pulp) But the tooth is fully in tact (except for the small hole used to take out the pulp)

Its more I am worried about the RCT failing, or infection coming back without the gutta percha in there...
(I don't know maybe the gutta percha is in there? Not sure...)
 
I'm not an expert, but I have had a number of root canals over the past year, so I pretty much know what happens now :rolleyes:. Most of my root canals were done over two or three appointments because I had a lot of pain and inflammation inside the teeth, they were quite difficult to numb and so the treatment was spread over several appointments.

If a root canal is done over a couple of appointments, part 1 is usually to clear as much of the pulp as possible and place a temporary dressing in there until you have the second part of the procedure (when the root canal is completed by filling and sealing the canals etc). All my root canals were on molars and I think the longest I waited between part 1 and part 2 of the procedure was about 6 weeks and the teeth were OK, although I avoided anything other than soft food just to be on the safe side (my mouth was also very sore, so soft food was really the only option anyway :rolleyes:).

From what you've posted, it seems as though you're more concerned about the injections and the possible pain that you might experience. Although oral sedation (depending on the drug and dosage) might cause some amnesia, from experience, it doesn't actually take away pain. If pain is your main concern, the only real solution to this is to find someone who can do painless or at least more comfortable, injections.

I had a lot of bad experiences when I was younger, so the prospect of several root canals with someone I didn't know very well, was terrifying (ironically, I've got to know the endodontist far better than I do my own dentist now :rolleyes:). I'd never had any form of sedation for dental treatment before, but I decided to try Diazepam (Valium) because I couldn't see how I was going to cope otherwise, especially as I have quite a bad startle response and also have flashbacks to previous incidents sometimes.

It took quite a few appointments to work out the right dose of Valium for me because I would produce that much adrenaline that it completely wiped it out and I would go into a major panic, but when I'd eventually got the dose and timing right, although it didn't affect my memory, it did make me feel in a fuzzy, "whatever!" sort of mood, where I was slightly less bothered about what was happening and although I was fully aware of what was going on around me, I was able to go through with the treatment without too much trauma. Despite taking oral sedation though, the key thing really, was seeing someone who was understanding and very patient.

The sooner you get the root canal finished, the better you will feel. As I said, I'm no expert, but I would imagine that although your tooth might be OK for a while, it's probably better to get it finished sooner rather than later. A lot of people who have posted on here have found Lorazepam (Ativan) or Diazepam useful, so it might be worth considering one of these instead if they are available.
 
Thing is, I NEED the amnesia effect.... absolutely! Or else I will be horrified and traumitized. Mine was a front tooth and from what i read I dont think there is way to make these injections painless and so I focus on the pain thereby increasing it even more. To make matters worse, the post op injection site pain makes it even harder to deal with because I will be antiticpaing another week or more of post op pain again, and dentists are leery to prescribe good painkillers for 'needle pain'. This time I missed 3 days of work because I was so sore after from the needles. I even ended up at the hospital emergency to try to get something for pain because the gnarling pain at the injection spots was so bad I could not sleep. IV sedation is actually best for me, but this endo does not use it. My only hope is to wait out the triazolam shortage...

As I said, its a front tooth that had nothing wrong with it... no cracks, no cavities, fillings etc. It was just that somehow I managed to hit the tooth and drive it up into the bone and that cut the blood supple off apparently.. I never knew that could happen till I did it!






I'm not an expert, but I have had a number of root canals over the past year, so I pretty much know what happens now :rolleyes:. Most of my root canals were done over two or three appointments because I had a lot of pain and inflammation inside the teeth, they were quite difficult to numb and so the treatment was spread over several appointments.

If a root canal is done over a couple of appointments, part 1 is usually to clear as much of the pulp as possible and place a temporary dressing in there until you have the second part of the procedure (when the root canal is completed by filling and sealing the canals etc). All my root canals were on molars and I think the longest I waited between part 1 and part 2 of the procedure was about 6 weeks and the teeth were OK, although I avoided anything other than soft food just to be on the safe side (my mouth was also very sore, so soft food was really the only option anyway :rolleyes:).

From what you've posted, it seems as though you're more concerned about the injections and the possible pain that you might experience. Although oral sedation (depending on the drug and dosage) might cause some amnesia, from experience, it doesn't actually take away pain. If pain is your main concern, the only real solution to this is to find someone who can do painless or at least more comfortable, injections.

I had a lot of bad experiences when I was younger, so the prospect of several root canals with someone I didn't know very well, was terrifying (ironically, I've got to know the endodontist far better than I do my own dentist now :rolleyes:). I'd never had any form of sedation for dental treatment before, but I decided to try Diazepam (Valium) because I couldn't see how I was going to cope otherwise, especially as I have quite a bad startle response and also have flashbacks to previous incidents sometimes.

It took quite a few appointments to work out the right dose of Valium for me because I would produce that much adrenaline that it completely wiped it out and I would go into a major panic, but when I'd eventually got the dose and timing right, although it didn't affect my memory, it did make me feel in a fuzzy, "whatever!" sort of mood, where I was slightly less bothered about what was happening and although I was fully aware of what was going on around me, I was able to go through with the treatment without too much trauma. Despite taking oral sedation though, the key thing really, was seeing someone who was understanding and very patient.

The sooner you get the root canal finished, the better you will feel. As I said, I'm no expert, but I would imagine that although your tooth might be OK for a while, it's probably better to get it finished sooner rather than later. A lot of people who have posted on here have found Lorazepam (Ativan) or Diazepam useful, so it might be worth considering one of these instead if they are available.
 
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