Pain after root canal appointment 1

[fairiesmast]

Hi there,

I'm a very nervous patient and last week required a root canal for a large abscess on my front upper right tooth caused by a trauma to the tooth 15 years ago. The procedure was quite terrible for me. The injections to numb the infected tooth were incredibly painful - the first few didn't seem to take very well and then a final one that felt like it went up in between my two front teeth right to the root/nerve was excruciating.

I am dreading my second appointment because my experience did nothing to help me conquer my anxiety around procedures like this. I was sobbing from the shock and pain, sweated through my jumper and shaking the whole time. However I am so glad to be out of pain from the infection and feel like I'm mostly recovering well.

The only issue is I have developed extreme sensitivity to cold in this area - really bad shooting pains when cold air or food/drink hits it. Can anyone advise on whether this is normal and will go away after some time? Or will it resolve after appointment 2 when the root canal is hopefully finished?

I have my second appointment in a few weeks' time and I feel sick to my stomach just thinking about going through the experience again. I didn't opt for IV sedation last time as it was an extra £500 but am considering it for this. I have been prescribed diazepam, but the 2mg I took before appointment 1 did nothing to relax me or improve the experience. Has anyone got any advice to help me?

 

[Gordon]

Can anyone advise on whether this is normal and will go away after some time? Or will it resolve after appointment 2 when the root canal is hopefully finished?

It's not unusual and it should go away in a day or 2.

I have been prescribed diazepam, but the 2mg I took before appointment 1 did nothing to relax me or improve the experience. Has anyone got any advice to help me?

Diazepam is a poor choice for dental oral sedation, ask for Temazepam instead depending on your size either 20 or 30mg about an hour before the appointment. You MUST have an escort to and from the appointment.

 

[fairiesmast]

Hi @Gordon, thank you very much for the swift reply.

It's been 6 days since my root canal and the cold sensitivity I'm experiencing is still very strong. It feels like it's affecting the exact place in my jaw that was very sore during the numbing injections via the tooth next door to the root canal (if that makes sense).

Thanks for the tip - I'll call the practice tomorrow as the endontist only works Thursdays and see if he will prescribe. My GP has been very unwilling to prescribe anything for my pain or anxiety during this process as he said that should be done via the dentist involved. Unfortunately I'm not registered with a dentist and the endontist seems quite hard to pin down. Really hope they can offer something that helps.

 

[Gordon]

My GP has been very unwilling to prescribe anything for my pain or anxiety during this process as he said that should be done via the dentist involved.

That's quite right and proper, it absolutely should be the person doing the treatment.

I'm not sure what's going on with the cold sensitivity. Try massaging some Sensodyne (or similar) into the next door teeth to the RCT one with a finger for a couple of days and see if that helps any.