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Torture before my root canal

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CHRISANDJULIE4

Junior member
Joined
Sep 9, 2007
Messages
6
:cry: So today I went for the first part of one of my several root canals. It was unbearable. First of all, in the same row of 4 teeth there are 3 which require root canals, and one that merely has a cavity. I went for this root canal, by the way, due to the excruciating pain. So, the endodontist (who is supposedly the best around), told me there is no way to tell by the x-ray which tooth is the one causing me the "worst" pain. Since the goal today was to get rid of my pain, he had no choice but to "isolate" the tooth that is causing me such pain. So I endured tapping the teeth, biting down on some things, and finally he had to put ICE on each tooth. It was truly unbearable. It became evident when he ICED each tooth that it hurt ALL of them, but the third tooth hurt so bad I wish the memory of it could be erased forever. Ugh. I totally understand why he had to do that, but man, that was so brutal. Fortunately, I had that tooth taken care of today. But I don't even want to go back to the same guy. He had NO bedside manner and really was so harsh. Has this happened to anyone else? I would rather lie next time and take a guess as to which tooth is the worst. Julie
 
I am so sorry that you had such a painful and tortuous visit whilst your dentist tried to isolate the source of the pain. All I can say is, even if he did the job, but you feel his bedside manner had a lot to be desired, perhaps he isn't the right dentist for you. A lot of people in any industry may know their job inside out and be expert at it, but you also need to have the right attitude and pleasing manner. I would say look around for another dentist - you'll know when you've got the right one and believe me, when you've got the right one, you can get through anything.
 
You poor thing!  You were so brave for going through with it.   :respect:

What you went through was (and still is) one of my top three fears.   :censored: When I went to my endo, I asked him if he needed to do all those tests. My dentist, the hygienist, and I had all proven multiple times that it hurt -- no need for additional confirmation.  Fortunately, he went ahead without doing those tests and it went very well.

For the next two, maybe you just pick a tooth for the endo to work on, rather than isolating one or the other.  I bet you could figure out at home (tapping with your own toothbrush, for example) which needs work first.  It's not great fun, but at least you're in control of the testing, which may take the edge off.

I hope you have a speedy recovery and that you find a better endo soon.   :XXLhug:

The Other Me
 
Sorry to hear about your bad experience....but if he is supposed to be the best endo around...before agreeing with the others that you should go elsewhere....can I just ask was the actual treatment painfree once the tooth had been isolated?

Technical competence is very important in root canals so I'd also wait and see if it has been a success before deciding whether to go back.....I do understand your reluctance to return however, as it sounds like he almost relished getting the chance to do the test and thereby hurt you; and only you can truly know whether this was the case; or whether he was just doing his job unempathetically.

I used to live in a different country and I had a problem with a cultural difference there in that many people prefer to skip the LA even with potentially painful fillings....I didn't like being treated by dentists who were apparently happy to routinely inflict unnecessary pain and in fact even found cleanings there painful until I switched practice!

Maybe your dentist can refer you to a different technically competent endo if you really can't face going back???
:grouphug:
 
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I went through the same for the tooth that's getting a r/c next Monday, and a tooth that received a major filling last year. I cried and shook and had a general panic attack. My dentist went from being the nicest woman in the world to being this cold, calculating maniac, shoving things in my mouth, telling me to hold still and not listening at all when I asked to get out of the chair. Afterwards, the hygienist explained that she wanted to get it done as quickly as possible so my panic didn't alter my perception of pain.

He may have just wanted to get it done with so you wouldn't panic. Once it's over, he should know what the problem is, and you won't have to have that done again. Cold efficiency isn't necessarily a bad thing. My mother had absolute horrors with a dentist that was so concerned with her comfort, it took 3 months to finish a single root canal. She ended up losing the tooth, because he was sooo empathetic that he would just stop when she started freaking out. The others he had 'fixed' had to be redone by an endo who had almost no bedside manner and made her quite nervous (until the happy drugs kicked in), but she hasn't had a single ounce of pain since.

But, like others said, if you think it was a case of sadism rather than cold efficiency, your dentist should be able to refer you to a new endo.
 
my whole thing with me is, once im in the chair, and we got everything going, i rather hold my fear and get it all done with, then having to keep comming back. I just sit there, try to relax, and just breath through my nose. Its very difficult sometimes, because, hey, lets face facts, you got a stranger digging in your mouth with tools and drills, but, i figure, once he's in there, he might as well finish up what he has to do, regardless how afrade i am.

What gets to me the most, and ive said this time after time, is not the actual dental work itself. I mean, its hardly ever over a few hours at worse, and its not like your going to be limping out of there (and if you walk into a dentist office and end up limping out, find a new dentist) and once its done, its done with. Teeth are very simple things to fix, compared to the rest of the body because, its just basicly rock, and a few nerves bundled within, so its not like you have to ware a cast and stuff on it. (well, i guess a temp crown would be consitered a cast, but, not really)


In fact when u stop and really think about it, teeth are very easy thing medical wise, because, they can be replaced. Now, you cant say that for a kidney or an eye or a lung or somthing! Worse case senero is, you loose the tooth or teeth in question, and they give u replacements.

so that tends to calm me down a hell of a lot when i get worried.
 
What Yourbigpal has said makes such sense. When I first went to the dentist I was (and still am) absolutely terrified even though that first visit was consultation only and nothing at all was going to be done. I kept telling myself why am I so scared, especially as my eldest sister came with me to each appointment as support. Now earlier in the year she had gone to hospital for a routine (if there can be such a thing as routine) heart operation. The surgeon punctured an artery by mistake and she was ambulanced across London from one hospital to another. They did emergency surgery on her and did something wrong again, she was in agony and at death's door and needed another operation. But they couldn't do anything because her blood was either too thin or too thick (can't remember which way round it was), so they gave her something to correct the blood, but gave her a pill to which she is allergic. Anyhow, she ws even worse, then she was haemhorraging so she had to go to emergency surgery. The surgeon (again by mistake) punched her in the face with his elbow and because of condition of her blood, 3 months later her whole face was still one massive bruise. She survived whatever they did in that opration, though they still didnt fix the artery that they'd punctured in the first op. She was in so much pain so she was on a morphine drip (amongst other things) but they overdosed her and again she nearly died. Anyhow I dropped everything in Wales and didn't leave her bedside for 3 days. After several weeks she left hospital, still needing an operation (when she recovered) to fix the punctured artery. That was 8 months ago and she is in constant agony. She has been told she must have the operation but there is a chance she will not live and if she doesn't have it, there's a chance she won't live.
Sorry to go on for so long, but just wanted to show how there I was whining and whimpering about my teeth and what had to be done which was hardly a life and death situation, just perhaps a few uncomfortable hours in the dentists chair, and here was my sister who had gone through so much, whose life is changed for ever, supporting me and yet still in such pain. I couldnt thank her enough for supporting me but all she said was that I supported her when she needed it and she would be there for me but of course as I keep saying to her, I feel so ashamed when compared to what she went through, what I went through with my teeth was absolutely nothing. But, as we know, it's all relative.
 
SS,
Reading about your sister's medical problems sure does put things into prospective. Just hope she gets the treatment she needs ands recovers from all this.

Today in the Dentist's office, there was a woman sitting across from me with very short hair and looking rather anxious. An assistant came to bring her back and said how nice her hair looked. The woman then said that since she had finished her third round of chemo that she was glad her hair was comming back.

Well this sort of made me feel less anxious as right there in front of me was someone who had far bigger problems!

There are far bigger issues than teeth, and those are my words of wisdom for today.
 
Yes, there are clearly bigger issues then teeth. its the amount of energy and thought we put into this fear of them, that tends to make us only focus on the teeth themselves.

I remember, before and sometimes still now, if i had a cavity, i was somehow handicapped, etc. and google, athough helpful, was also harmful, because you read all these absolute worse case seneroes about how this or that COULD happen, but, you dont take into acount that it took YEARS for it to get that bad and how sometimes no matter what you do acidents will happen, teeth will sometimes get broken, chipped, knocked out, etc, and you worry about WHAT IF, WHAT IF, WHAT IF!

And that is no way to live life. Its amazing how bad this fear, over what is a MINOR ISSUE can lead you do amazing things.

Ok, take for example, i have what appears to be a stained pit on one of my k9s. Now, for the past year ive been brushing, and flossing and trying to eat as healthy as possable, take care of my teeth, etc, and i still find myself running into the bathroom to check on it with a mirror in my mouth and a flashlight. and you know what, its not going to change. its not going to be there one moment, then there another, and most of the time, u have to hold the light and the mirror at the right angle, to even see the pit, so that right there tells me alone its unlikely a cavity, and if it was a cavity, they surley would have fixed it with my other cavities. I mean, it really doesnt make alot of sense for them to fix some cavaties, and not others. The dentist office is after all a buisness.

Then my over criticical nature takes hold, which i get from my mother, and it adds to the fear. and ya know what, why? Its like a self punishment, ok, u abused ur teeth for years, now u have to suffer, and i tell myself, why am i doing this to myself? Am i masking one pain with another? Im now on the right path, why am i still regretting the past.

Also if it were a cavity, its so small and shallow i doubt they would even have to numb me, and yet, ive put so much time and energy into a fear, and for what?

I am NOT A DENTIST. I dont have a degree. I am not qualified by law to make determinations to what is what within my mouth! Self dignoast is the worse thing you can do to yourself!

Let the pros do there jobs. You just gota worry about living your life. So what if years down the road u need another filling, or your teeth fall out, etc. GEORGE WASHINGTON, the founding father and first president of the united states, HAD NO TEETH WHAT SO EVER! and look what he acheved!
 

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