Need 2 root canals, scared to death and stressed..

[Lunabell87]

Next Thursday I am getting 2 root canals due to an infection and I am so scared I feel like I am going to throw up. I never had root canals, so I am more afraid but I really hate the Novocain shot, it always really hurts. Just thinking about the shot make me stress out, I also had a bad experience when a dentist gave the shot and it hurt so bad I screamed and she didn't care.

I don't see that one anymore but also for some reason it just seems to hurt a lot, I dunno if all the dentists I go to suck at giving shots or what. I want to see one that uses the The Wand but none of them take my insurance...all the good dentists that have high end stuff refuse to take it because my insurance covers everything I need so they don't make enough money I guess. I have great insurance but still get stuck with the crappy dentists..so finding a "painless" dentist is out of the question.

I also hate having work done, I am so scared that the dentist will mess up and hurt me or maybe I didn't get enough Novocain and then all of the sudden I am in tons of pain. I want laughing gas, but my insurance don't cover that so I am hoping I have money left over to get it...

Sometimes I feel like calling and canceling, I am just scared sh*tless...so, some advice and experiences would be helpful..

Thanks.

 

[JPnewSmile]

Dear Lunabell87,
I recently underwent a lot of dental procedures. Now in my 40's the last time I had went to the dentist was once in 1997 and in the 1970's prior to that, so I had major, major work to be completed. Deathly afraid of the dentist, I had no choice but to go in Dec 2009. Happy to report I am almost done, my last visit will be next Tuesday.
Short list of work I had done:
Extractions, I think I had 14 teeth removed, I lost count.
Deep scaling both upper and lower teeth
Root canals - (4) of them. Complete with Canal/post/root therapy and all (4) had new crowns.
Upper Impression
Lower Impression - Both for my new Partials.

I PROMISE the most painless procedure for me was the root canals. I had (4) and they all were complete within 20 minutes. The needle is so tiny, and they actually will swab the area first and that numbs it up where the needle is hardly noticable. Ever prick your finger with a needle, or staple? It doesn't hurt anymore than that. Plus it's a short small pain that last 1 second, then it's gone. For my extraction, I had 17 shots of novicane, my roots would not totally numb. As far as the root canals, I didn't feel a thing, they were the most pleasant part of my whole dental procedures.

If you currently have an infection, be sure to take your antibiotics, I too had an infection and when I went to the dentist, after the shots of novicane, I could still feel the drill once they started, so they stopped, sent me to get another presciption and two weeks later I was in the dentist chair again.

All (4) were deep cancals, and all 4 had to have metal post, which the crowns affixed to. When I went in to have the temp crowns replaced with the perm crowns, I had one tooth that hurt like heck once they took the temp crown off. This was a tooth that didn't have a root canal, but a new crown was put on. Because of the pain, my dentist went ahead and gave me a root canal, right on the spot... it took 5 minutes.... You are going to laugh once you're done because it's nothing, I think I felt more discomfort having 2 fillings done... the root canals gave me no pain, none at all.
Don't get too stressed, you will be just fine.... Good luck to you.
JP

 

[Lunabell87]

That part about the infection and you still feeling the drill scares me, I was on Penicilln VK for a week and then went back to see how it was working. The bump was still there and the infection really didn't go away, it's not a bad one tough and doesn't hurt. I have an infection due to fillings in my two front teeth from another dentist years ago and my current dentist said that my other dentist should of given me root canals then and not fillings. The fillings are aggravating the nerves. So the meds won't due anything until the root canal is done.

Now I am afraid the novacain won't work because of the infection...

Dear Lunabell87,
I recently underwent a lot of dental procedures. Now in my 40's the last time I had went to the dentist was once in 1997 and in the 1970's prior to that, so I had major, major work to be completed. Deathly afraid of the dentist, I had no choice but to go in Dec 2009. Happy to report I am almost done, my last visit will be next Tuesday.
Short list of work I had done:
Extractions, I think I had 14 teeth removed, I lost count.
Deep scaling both upper and lower teeth
Root canals - (4) of them. Complete with Canal/post/root therapy and all (4) had new crowns.
Upper Impression
Lower Impression - Both for my new Partials.

I PROMISE the most painless procedure for me was the root canals. I had (4) and they all were complete within 20 minutes. The needle is so tiny, and they actually will swab the area first and that numbs it up where the needle is hardly noticable. Ever prick your finger with a needle, or staple? It doesn't hurt anymore than that. Plus it's a short small pain that last 1 second, then it's gone. For my extraction, I had 17 shots of novicane, my roots would not totally numb. As far as the root canals, I didn't feel a thing, they were the most pleasant part of my whole dental procedures.

If you currently have an infection, be sure to take your antibiotics, I too had an infection and when I went to the dentist, after the shots of novicane, I could still feel the drill once they started, so they stopped, sent me to get another presciption and two weeks later I was in the dentist chair again.

All (4) were deep cancals, and all 4 had to have metal post, which the crowns affixed to. When I went in to have the temp crowns replaced with the perm crowns, I had one tooth that hurt like heck once they took the temp crown off. This was a tooth that didn't have a root canal, but a new crown was put on. Because of the pain, my dentist went ahead and gave me a root canal, right on the spot... it took 5 minutes.... You are going to laugh once you're done because it's nothing, I think I felt more discomfort having 2 fillings done... the root canals gave me no pain, none at all.
Don't get too stressed, you will be just fine.... Good luck to you.
JP

 

[robotguy]

Hello and welcome,

I've had a root canal done just the past couple of weeks and can honestly say its very easy and painless. Its done with very fine tools and in the softer part of the tooth so its much less physical than a normal filling. Also as it removes the nerve there is very little aching after-wards. I certainly didn't need any pain killers after and it had settled down completely within a week.

I have some tips that I've found help with having the local being given. First off they will use a numbing gel on the gums first, this does help. Next try to relax when its given, sounds hard I know but there is a reason for this. If you are tense then your skin/gun tightens up and so more pressure is needed to get in there to give the anesthetic. If you relax then less force is needed. When you are in the chair allow yourself to relax into it, try to sink into the chair. Concentrate on your breathing. Just as they are about to give the shot take a deep breath and release it slowly as its being given, don't hold your breath as that means you are tensing up. Try not to rush through this, as the first bit of liquid gets in your gum it will numb it so that you don't feel the next bit. You may feel pressure from the liquid but not any more sharp pain. I find the deeper injections feel like a tight pinch.

A root canal does need some 'deeper' anesthetic as its working lower down in the tooth.

If you are worked up and panicking then your body will fight against the anesthetic so it will take longer to work, but it will work. A 'hot' infection will also prevent the anesthetic working but if the infection is active then a good dentist will sent you away with antibiotics and get you to come back when its calmed down, they don't want you to be in pain or suffer either. If you feel anything then tell the dentist and they will either add more LA or decide that the infection needs to settle down some more. The infection cannot be totally cured with antibiotics as it will be in the bony part of the tooth where there is no blood supply, so the drugs can't get to it. But they can kill enough of the infection so that the nerve is free of infection and the LA will work properly.

In my experience I have felt almost nothing during my fillings, just once when we thought the nerve was dead anyway and it turned out to be still good, so in a way it was good that I felt something that time. The root canal I felt nothing during the drilling, it was so gentle, much easier than a filling.

Communicate with your dentist though and get them to help you through the parts you find hardest.

I hope this helps a bit.

 

[karolina]

Hi Lunabell87,
I had my first ever root canal done a few weeks ago and it really wasn't that bad. I was really freaked out but it actually turned out to be less stressful than some fillings... I hope your experience will be good as well! Good luck!

 

[haggis for the soul]

I have to say that by far the easiest and quickest part of all the work I've had lately have been the root canals. They have a bad reputation, but in my experience, they don't deserve it.

If you are worried about pain, don't be afraid to ask for more novocaine. My dentist has learned that he has to give me a little bit more than usual, and that takes care of it. I hope that you have a dentist that you can trust, who is understanding of dental fears, and who will agree to watch for your signals when you are feeling anxious or need more numbing. Good luck.

 

[Lunabell87]

Thanks for replying everyone!


My husband switched my appointment to tomorrow at 10 in the morning so he can be with me and I got some Valium, I took one to see how well it works. I felt strange but it didn't last very long and I am already starting to feel tense again, so i don't think it works. I am also getting laughing gas and hoping that will work.


Also the numbing stuff they put on before the shot really doesn't help me, the shot still hurts so much, like the needle is going trough my eyeball into my brain. I am also scared because this is a new dentist I am seeing, so I don't know if I can trust her and don't know how good she is..

How long will the root canal take? they said my appointment will last an hour and a half but I know they are also putting on temp crowns until I get my permanent ones. I am hoping it won't last long and it's the crowns that will take the most time. Also because the infection isn't bad and the other tooth doesn't have an infection but they want to clean it out anyway and put a crown on so an infection won't start in that one because of the bad fillings, so for those reasons I am hoping the root canal won't last that long.



Bleh, I was hoping the Valium would help me calm down but I am ready to cry again..

 

[elphaba826]

I know how you feel! I just went in for my first root canal/crown yesterday. I was petrified! The worst part is that I'm pregnant so can't have any of the really good calming drugs right now. I had to brave it without any type of sedation. I've had TERRIBLE experiences with the numbing shots before. That's the reason I put off getting my tooth fixed for so long... when I got the initial filling many years back the numbing shot was so painful I couldn't stomach the idea of going through it again.

I live in a different state now and have a new dentist. He must be much better at numbing than the other one because this time I didn't feel a thing when the shot went in. I really do think it's all about the skill of the dentist.

As for the procedure itself, it was so much easier than I was expecting. Looking back I see I didn't have anything at all to be nervous about. There was no pain at all. After the initial drilling, which can be uncomfortable with all that vibrating and water spraying and all (but not painful!), it was all just really gentle work with files. No big deal at all!

My appointment lasted about 1.5 hours, but I also got another small filling in the tooth next to the one getting the root canal. The root canal and small filling were over quickly. The bulk of the time was spent on crown-related stuff.

Good luck!

 

[Lunabell87]

Thanks for the reply


I went in today, but ended up finding out the receptionist screwed up. When I asked for Valium and asked if I could have laughing gas as well she said she would ask the dentist and then she told me that it was okay for both. I took two Valium when I woke up and it still didn't work. =/ When I got there and went to get the work done, I was wondering why they didn't have the laughing gas set up. The dentist told me she didn't feel comfortable giving me laughing gas while being on Valium (because even though it didn't work, it's still in my system) and I told her what the receptionist said and she ended up angry because no one actually talked to her about it.

She was going to try to continue but she saw how scared I was, more so when I found out that I wasn't going to have the gas and plus the Valium not working. So she stopped and said she didn't want me to be scared and crying through the whole thing. She contacted my husbands insurance and with an exception, I am going to see a specialist at the end of the month.

She will ask if the specialist can put me on a stronger pill, plus use laughing gas, if not then just the laughing gas. I will still see my reg dentist for the crowns, she just didn't want to go through with it if I was going to be miserable. Right now she is just pissed off at the receptionist for doing what she did.

I am happy she was kind about it and didn't want me to be scared and will set me up with a specialist to make me feel better. =)