Really scared over upcoming root canal treatment

[rosepetal77]

Hey everyone,
I went to the dentist today and was surprised to learn that I have an abscessed tooth, even though I have very little pain. I was told I would need a root canal and eventually a crown. What was your root canal experience like? Is it as bad as its reputation? Will the crown look natural or will it look fake when I smile? I'm not a happy camper .

 

[Carys]

No, not at all as bad as its reputation. Everyone goes 'ooooooo root canal' but seeing as you don't feel anything at all, due to local anaesthetic injections is it nothing to worry about... Mine was done in two appointments, the first to take out the insides of the root canals and then pack with medicine and a temporary filling. Then on the second appointment, the final filling was done. Then you will need a crown done to cover the tooth. The truth is it does take time, each of my appointments took over 3/4 hour, and seems to be a lot of fiddly things going on. Also, the dentist will use a rubber sheet to isolate the tooth, called a dental dam which is attached around the tooth to keep it sterile. There are differing opinions on dental dams and if they are liked, personally I found it much better than a normal filling as I wasn't worried about swallowing bits and my throat was protected. There is a good write-up about the root canal process on the site. I will find it and post it as a link. Your dentist may have found that your decay has reached too far into the tooth to do a deep filling, he/she can tell my looking at the xray.

My root canal experience

Do you want to find out what root canal treatment really feels like? Get a blow-by-blow account (and no, it's not scary)!

www.dentalfearcentral.org