Root Canal?

[JoeWras]

Retired dentist here:

I had a specialist do both of mine, BTW. It's all they do, they do them all day long, day after day. On a molar, under a crown? In my practice that tooth definitely goes to the specialist, who BTW, is called and "endodontist", not the same thing as an "oral surgeon".

Yep. After my root canal, on return to my regular dentist, I asked her why she didn't become an endodontist. After all, it seemed like an assembly line of money making.

She laughed, said, yep, but that it would have also drove her crazy to do the same, after same, after same. She'd rather have the challenge of variety than just becoming part of an assembly line.

I was glad to use the Endo. This guy really knew his stuff.

 

[Rianne]

I've had 2 root canals and 11 crowns. Not all endocrinologists are the same and don't be fooled by the cost. One endo had a beautiful office, several assistants, very expensive...you'd think "he's really good, knows what he's doing" not always the case. He was arrogant and I had to have it done again. One big aspect, make sure you are comfortable with your bite. This can cause another root canal, if your bite isn't right. Keep going back until you are satisfied.

 

[REWahoo]

Not all endocrinologists are the same...

I think I see the problem with your dental work right there.

 

[Nemo2]

I think I see the problem with your dental work right there.

Well....at least it wasn't proctologists.

 

[Rianne]

I think I see the problem with your dental work right there.

I have beautiful teeth now and only get them cleaned twice/year. Knock on wood. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I'm beginning to think because we had such good health insurance with dental and vision for so many years, doctors look at this at think, good candidate for surgery/treatment. I sometimes think about 8 of those crowns were unnecessary, most all back teeth, molars. I have become super skeptical of doctors these days.

 

[Bestwifeever]

....

The anticipation and "war stories" from friends was the worst part....

By the next day, I was pain free and had no soreness at all.

.....

+1. I've had several, including two through crowns. The last was a disintegrating canine and I did see an endodontist for that (apparently the roots are longer and curve more than my regular dentist is comfortable dealing with), who was very good--I show that crown off as if it's jewelry). Only in the case of a very bad abscess did I have killer pain afterward that the dentist had to go back in to relieve. Otherwise I don't think they are much worse (except for financially) than getting a cavity filled.

 

[Aerides]

The pain before a root canal - ie, that causes the reason for the surgery - is the worst part. The root canal essentially kills the root (and the nerve) so afterwards is cake. Getting numbed up for the procedure is not fun if you don't like needles.

Meds for a couple days just because everything's a bit sore. (Good excuse for a couple of sick days if you are still working.) Then you have the fun of getting a new crown which I find very tedious and annoying.

 

[CRLLS]

DW just had her 1st. Me, not had one. Her family dentist said he no longer does root canals on molars because of the complexity so he sent her to an endodontist. The procedure was really painless for her (and DW does not endure any pain). He installed a temporary filling. She just went back to her dentist for her temporary crown fitting last week and again she was chewing within hours. Final crown will be done in a few weeks. We don't expect any surprises.

I remember 45 yrs ago, a friend had a root canal the morning of his wedding. I thought he was foolish back then. Today, things seem to have gotten a lot easier.

 

[HadEnuff]

I have beautiful teeth now and only get them cleaned twice/year. Knock on wood. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I'm beginning to think because we had such good health insurance with dental and vision for so many years, doctors look at this at think, good candidate for surgery/treatment. I sometimes think about 8 of those crowns were unnecessary, most all back teeth, molars. I have become super skeptical of doctors these days.

well, at least now that you don't have insurance, you aren't faced with trying to finance 8 crowns on molars that are breaking apart (maybe sending you to the endodontist first).

I used to hear "if it ain't broke don't fix it" a lot. My response was "what if the guy you are paying to keep you out of trouble thinks that it is about to break, catastrophically?"

 

[splitwdw]

I've had several, including through crowns. The worst part for me is the shots of Novocaine (or whatever they use now) to get the area of numb. Once that is done, just a lot of tedium and spit as they work the place. Mild soreness after for a day or two. One (many years ago) didn't "take" and had to be redone. You'll be fine. Anything is better than tooth ache to me!
I doubt that a "rough" cleaning would cause a tooth to crack unless it was on the edge anyway. Perhaps the two weeks given you before the root canal is to see whether the area settles down or is indeed in need of treatment. You can always wait and see.

Since he was put on an antibiotic he probably had an infection, that's probably why the 2 week wait.

I don't understand all the scare stories from friends about the experience. Mine have usually taken an hour and no pain other than the injections.

Rianne, Hopefully you didn't go to an endocrinologist for your root canal.

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

My last root canal was years ago when I neglected my regular visits and suffered a bit. When I finally went in, the root/nerves were pretty dead so they didn't even numb the area even though they gave me the option. Overall, it was fine, though with the few odd "ick" feelings; not really "ouch". Was told to take it easy for a while but I was eating pretty regularly by dinner.

Hated my dentist as a kid. He was pretty horrible. My current dentist is great. Communicates, explains things.

 

[jim584672]

I had cracked a tooth... they were going to go with just a crown, but it still was sensitive to cold.... said he needed to do a root canal...

When he got in there he said there was nothing to be done except the root canal... the tooth was cracked all the way through... you could not see it on X ray, but easily when it was open... I saw the pic...


I have a problem with a tooth now and will probably be getting a root canal on it... I have been waiting for 4 months for the nerve to heal itself... I think it never will...

I had a tooth that was cracked and the root canal guy said it couldn't be saved due to the crack. Implant is next.

 

[bingybear]

I had my first back in the 70's... in Jr. High. Before going in the tooth felt like it was going to explode. Ice helped, but after a while nothing did. The dentist did the root canal without pain meds at all. When he drilled into the canal, the pain went away.

This was caused by a football accident about a year before. The nerve was dead and pressure was building up in the tooth. The pressure was causing the pain.

If yours is more normal, I would expect it to take longer. But then you are likely not in that level of pain now.

 

[gayl]

Now he says......."ok, looks like you need a root canal", and schedules it for 2 weeks from now (and puts me on a 10-day course of antibiotics). .... So I have two questions:

-if you have had a root canal, how did it go? How long until you could start chewing with that tooth again, without pain? Any unanticipated side effects, short- or long-term? and........

- do you think it is possible that the rough cleaning a couple days before the pain started was responsible for this crown starting to hurt all of a sudden? I have had this crown for some 12 years now, with zero problems until now. I have not brought this possibility up with the dentist or the hygienist, but it sure seems to me that the cleaning might have contributed to this problem.

-RAE

yeah .... I have had too many including 1 under an old crown a month ago. Dentist tried to avoid it, wish he hadn't

My endodontist offers gas & I insist on it ($85 extra). No idea what's going on afterwards. Scenario:
Walk in
Get gas & dental dam
Wake up an hour later
Aspirin every 6- 8 hours for 2 days, abx × 10 days for infection (you're on it already)
Can't eat for an hour or chew on that side for a few days

 

[kimcdougc]

I have had at least 10 root canals. Just last week was the last one. The worst part is the pain before the root canal. They just do it through the crown that is there. I always take the gas as I am a big chicken. This last tooth already had a root canal and they thought it had cracked, the endodontist found a 2nd nerve under the tooth. Killed the nerve and no more pain.

Had to go back to my regular dentist for a permanent filling. Pain free again.

I go to an older endodontist whom is up to date with all the newer technology. He does a great job. No need to be afraid.

Cost $1,300.

 

[JoeWras]

yeah .... I have had too many including 1 under an old crown a month ago. Dentist tried to avoid it, wish he hadn't

My endodontist offers gas & I insist on it ($85 extra). No idea what's going on afterwards. Scenario:
Walk in
Get gas & dental dam
Wake up an hour later
Aspirin every 6- 8 hours for 2 days, abx × 10 days for infection (you're on it already)
Can't eat for an hour or chew on that side for a few days

But you are missing the cool part! The part where the endodontist sticks the puller in your tooth, wraps up that nasty little nerve and yanks it out. It really is a kind of cool, sort of like having a parasite delivered.

I asked to see it. I understand other people may be asked to be shielded from seeing it. I can understand.

 

[jabbahop]

Just make sure they get ALL the roots. I had one where they missed one little bit of one of the roots. I then left for a week business trip to Japan (12 hour flight). For some reason the left over root woke up @ 30K feet with no Advil in sight. That was the most miserable business trip I ever had.

Got back and popped the little guy out (so small that the offending canal didn't appear on x-ray apparently). No problem after that.

 

[exnavynuke]

You don't want to hear about my root canal. I went to a specialist and he had a terrible time with it. It continued to be sensitive and two years later I had it all pulled out and a bridge made. Nothing hurts now. I hope yours goes well and you have no problems.

I had my first root canal when I was in 3rd or 4th grade. Root canals and temporary crowns put on two busted tooth. I spent the next 3 days in the hospital in excruciating pain from the infection until the IV antibiotics and pain killers started to work. The procedure was terrifying to me at the time, and more so now (first they drilled out the tooth which didn't bother me back then, but then they "filled" the hole with a "plug" thing that involved what felt like enough pressure to shove my tooth into my back). My dental experiences didn't get a whole lot more pleasant afterwards (though my massive phobia likely causes a lot of the problems psychologically, but not the 'I'm not numb so stop drilling into my tooth!' problems were surely not my fault).

I have a broken tooth right now and a toothache. I'm getting examined tomorrow so they can set up a treatment plan (root canal and crown for sure, since that's what another dentist already said I need and showed me the x-rays). Why didn't I just get it done there? Because that dentist won't knock me out. Paying ~$5-600 to NOT have to go through corrective dental procedures is well worth it to me with my severe phobia.

I hope my next root canal, and yours, go much better than my first..

Oh, I forgot, apparently root canals/crowns are "Temporary" fixes and not expected to last for life. Mine were done for after ~25 years (tooth just broke off under the crown). Had to get both extracted and implants put in. Dental insurance covered ~$720 of all that work...

 

[wolf]

1. I have had a root canal. No big deal.

2. I think I was chewing on it the next day.

3. No, the rough cleaning had nothing to do with it.

+1. Have had 13 - 15 root canals. Most posts describe the procedure
very accurately.

One concern. When ever I had nerve pain, my dentist immediately called
the "specialist", root canal person, and they squeezed me in immediately
for an exam. NO 2 WEEK wait. And if a root canal was needed, the procedure was started that day. END OF PAIN.

Also, noticed. My endo specialist, always did the procedure in 2 visits.
(same price). First visit, remove nerve. 2nd visit, check for healing and
be sure entire nerve/root removed, then filled up the hole.

Some endo, do the procedure same visit. Not recommended.

Regular dentist, finishes up the work. New crown, if needed.

Here in CA, cost around $ 1200 root canal, $1000 crown.

 

[JoeWras]

Oh, I forgot, apparently root canals/crowns are "Temporary" fixes and not expected to last for life. Mine were done for after ~25 years (tooth just broke off under the crown). Had to get both extracted and implants put in. Dental insurance covered ~$720 of all that work...

Yikes. A little searching confirms this. I have some 30 year old crowns in my head with no problems. But now you gave me something to worry about.

Looks like I'm going to add a $2k per year expense item to my ER spreadsheet. Darn it! I figure some years will be zero, some will have a crown, and I expect an implant or two somewhere down the line...

 

[splitwdw]

But you are missing the cool part! The part where the endodontist sticks the puller in your tooth, wraps up that nasty little nerve and yanks it out. It really is a kind of cool, sort of like having a parasite delivered.

I asked to see it. I understand other people may be asked to be shielded from seeing it. I can understand.

Joe, I'm curious, what are you talking about? I've had several root canals and the endodonist uses small files to remove the pulp. Never had a nerve yanked out with puller.

 

[JoeWras]

Joe, I'm curious, what are you talking about? I've had several root canals and the endodonist uses small files to remove the pulp. Never had a nerve yanked out with puller.

Yeah, sorry, I guess the real name is "file." Whatever it is, it comes out wrapped on the device. Looked just like this, from wikipedia

 

[athena53]

But you are missing the cool part! The part where the endodontist sticks the puller in your tooth, wraps up that nasty little nerve and yanks it out.

Naw, the cool part happened in my first root canal when I wasn't really sure how the process worked and I saw something with a little wisp of smoke curling off of it heading for my mouth and it was too stuffed with equipment for me to ask "What the H is that?" I think it was the freshly- heated gutta percha. Didn't feel a thing but I wish he would have explained it!

 

[sengsational]

Non-Viable Teeth

Just make sure they get ALL the roots. I had one where they missed one little bit of one of the roots. I then left for a week business trip to Japan (12 hour flight). For some reason the left over root woke up @ 30K feet with no Advil in sight. That was the most miserable business trip I ever had.

I wouldn't use a dentist to get the root canal unless I had a lot of knowledge about the dentist's success rate. So, I'd go to an endodontist.

My endo specialist, always did the procedure in 2 visits. (same price). First visit, remove nerve. 2nd visit, check for healing and be sure entire nerve/root removed, then filled up the hole.

Probably a good idea to go twice.

I think there's a perception issue that nerves are 100% removed... This is a biological thing and they try to clean it out the best they can, but nothing in this realm is 100%. We just hope that they get most of it, and there's not enough left for it to get infected.

Talking about infections, there are some comments concerning low grade infections in non-viable teeth (aka ones that have had root canals) that do not have obvious symptoms. But there are some "experts" that suggest having this dead tooth in your mouth isn't a great idea because these teeth are porous and harbor some really weird bacterial strains that are later found in the GI tract. Personally, I'm not sure there's anything to worry about, but wondered if anyone purposefully switched out non-viable teeth for implants.

 

[athena53]

Talking about infections, there are some comments concerning low grade infections in non-viable teeth (aka ones that have had root canals) that do not have obvious symptoms. But there are some "experts" that suggest having this dead tooth in your mouth isn't a great idea because these teeth are porous and harbor some really weird bacterial strains that are later found in the GI tract. Personally, I'm not sure there's anything to worry about, but wondered if anyone purposefully switched out non-viable teeth for implants.

Wow- never heard that and,although I am very happy with the implants I have, I sure wouldn't like to pay for more to replace teeth that (to my knowledge) aren't giving me any trouble. I'm going to ask my dentist about this- he's a smart, curious guy and I bet either he or the oral surgeon he works with would know.

I'm not sure which, if any, of my remaining natural teeth are non-viable; a few have been removed due to decay and one due to an abscess at the root. I have a bridge over one and implants replacing the others. I do remember being told that a root-canalled tooth practically fuses to the jawbone and is harder to extract.