Root Canal Terror

[kroycroft7]

I have an upcoming appointment to have a root canal done on my front tooth and I am terrified. Im afraid of anestesia and the side effects which I've researched thoroughly. I'm so sick in my stomach over this procedure. I've tried oil pulling and natural home self care but my tooth is broken and I can see black by the gumline. I'm mostly afraid of not waking up from the anesthesia or the side effects killing me. Help!

 

[letsconnect]

Hi @kroycroft7, can you tell us what sort of anesthesia you're talking about, and which potential side effects you've come across in your research? In the normal way, dental treatment is perfectly safe, so it would be useful to know!

 

[kroycroft7]

I am afraid of epinephrine. And pretty much every local anesthesia has horrible side effects from breathing difficulty to cardiac shut down, and numbness in legs with bowel and bladder loss. One says blindness and hearing loss. The anesthesia I was told by my dentist woupd be used on me is carbocaine. Lidocaine is said to be the most common one used but its side effects are terrifying to me.

 

[kroycroft7]

I would like to just take some ibuprofen 800s before I go in for my procedure but I mentioned that and was told Ill be given anesthesia.

 

[oneby]

@kroycroft7 I had my first root canal earlier this year. It was on a molar so I had to go to an endodontist. I was numbed but not given anything else. I asked about nitrous oxide but the doc said that 95% of his patients don't seem to need it. So I didn't take it either. Everyone's experience can be different, but my experience was very positive. I never suffered any pain, at any point, during the procedure or for days afterward (I did take ibuprofen for a couple of days just in case). That doesn't mean your experience will be the same, but it does mean that root canals are not always bad. And reactions to the anesthesia are rare.

 

[letsconnect]

@kroycroft7 local anaesthesia has an excellent safety record, I'm not sure where you've come across those scary stories? We've never had anyone on this forum report breathing difficulty, cardiac shutdown, numbness in legs with bowel and bladder loss, blindness, or hearing loss. I'm pretty sure that the dentists here (with their long years of experience) haven't come across these side effects in their patients, either.