I suffer horrible anxiety at the dentist. I white knuckle it through every cleaning and wince and flinch with every thing the hygenist does. It doesn’t hurt. It’s the anticipation of it hurting.
I also grew up with the memories of my mom having MANY root canals and crowns and lying on the couch with ice packs. I was TERRIFIED of every needing a crown/root canal.
A few years ago, I cracked a tooth eating my beloved chunky peanut butter. And note - I haven’t eaten it since! Switched to creamy, lol. Went to the endodontist and it was nothing like I expected. He was great and explained everything that he would do and showed me this booklet that looked like it was made for kids. (i.e. it didn’t gross me out like everything that has to do with teeth.) I really appreciated it. He said the only hard part would be keeping my mouth open wide that long. And really, that wasn’t even hard. It didn’t hurt at all! And I’m one who usually needs 2-4 extra Novocain shots for a filling.
Did he mean in constant pain like it was abscessed? because I definitely had a lot of pain on that tooth while eating, but mine root canal didn’t hurt a bit. But, I didn’t hurt 24-7 like I know some people can be.
I have had many, many, MANY root canals, along with several abscesses. It was my experience that the dentist (where all of mine were done) prescribed antibiotics for the abscess before the root canal and as a result, the pain, which comes from the pressure from swelling, was mostly gone. All of mine were done with a ton of Novicaine, and a tiny bit of residual pain once it wore off, but that was easily handled with ibuprofen.
My tooth had cold/heat sensitivity (no pain), but has a huge old metal filling. Dentists saw tiny fracture lines, but said it wasn’t yet cracked. Plan was a crown. However, after the temporary crown was placed, I experienced pain with chewing or if I put pressure on the tooth. Not good. So I have an appointment with an endo tomorrow to evaluate need for root canal before permanent cap is installed.
Ugh…
I had bad experiences with my pediatric dentist, and that has informed my behavior ever since. I put off going to the dentist as much as possible and have paid for that a time or two. I’m trying to take care of deferred maintenance that Covid contributed to and just get it all behind me.
I have vivid memories of going to the dentist as a kid. It was terrible. I had teeth removed, braces, root canal, now some delightful cleaning procedures and am seeing an endodontist at the end of the month, plus having some fillings replaced. I’m glad I’m not the only one stressed about the dentist!
I had symptoms very similar to what you are experiencing with the last temp crown I had.I even paid endo over 300 bucks for some special xray. I didn’t have a root canal and when they placed the permanent crown it was FINE. Now I have another temp, and it too feels odd/hurts when I bite with it. Mostly, I just chew on the other side and assume the permanent crown will feel much better.
I really appreciate the feedback and find it interesting how many of you hate going to the dentist! I have four molars that need to be crowned due to old metal fillings and the fact that I have been clenching and grinding my teeth in my sleep for years. Fortunately no severe gum disease or loose teeth or anything like that, but getting through these four molars and their required procedures is going to be an ordeal, given my dentist anxiety.
I had my first oral surgery 2 years ago to save my front teeth, it was not pleasant, but I survived and so did my front teeth. I had root canal a long time ago on this tooth so I don’t remember how bad it was because it was in my teen. Yeah, I should take care of my teeth better when I was but I haven’t had anymore problem since. No cavities for nearly 30+ years.
My childhood dentist was a huge man with huge hands who did not believe in wasting novocaine when filling cavities. I was told to ac"be a little man and sit still". Shades of Marathon Man. No wonder I hated the dentist. From age 18-28 I avoided the dentist. Then at some point I realized I needed to go back, and found a dentist who did not practice dark ages dentistry.
To this day when I hear the drill I wince and tighten up, only to be relieved when no pain is felt.
I have had both crowns and a root canal. The crowns were more trouble than the root canal. The root canal was easy peasy and I didn’t feel a thing.
The root canal was actually through one of my crowns (years after it had been placed). I had been experiencing pain, especially at night when I was trying to sleep, and sometimes it was so bad it would wake me up. Went to my dentist and she gave me penicillin for the infection that was causing the pain and sent me to the endodontist who had me come back in two weeks after the penicillin had cleared the infection. They specialized in no-pain procedures. I didn’t do nitrous, but she was really concerned I was completely numb for it. I was, so no problem there. She did her thing and sent me home and that was that. I don’t remember any pain after the procedure. I was just glad the pain I had before was all gone.
The crowns with the temporaries and the fittings and coming back to get the real thing, that was all much more of a pain in the neck (tooth?) than the root canal, but it may be that you are just experiencing that instead of needing a root canal.
To be honest with you I would much rather experience another root canal procedure itself than have to have another crown, although I don’t want the weeks of pain leading up to the root canal. No thanks on that.
This is exactly my experience. I’ve had several root canals, one where I was in pain prior. That one hurt, but alleviated the pain immediately after it was done; the other two or three I’ve had done (can’t even remember) were fairly painless. Not pleasant, but not painful. I don’t have dental anxiety so can’t speak to that, though I do hate getting my teeth worked on (and obviously have had a lot of experience). But root canals are really no worse than a filling, though they take a bit longer.
Instead of using Novocain, my childhood dentist would say “raise your hand if it hurts and I’ll stop”. I think my hand touched the ceiling a few times and he never stopped. My current dentist knows my history and is so very gentle with me that it’s almost embarrassing (but I appreciate it). I’ve had many, many fillings, crowns, and an implant, and the only pain I’ve felt was the needle for the Novocain.
My dentist always puts a warm towel behind my neck and gives me a squeeze toy to keep my hands occupied. Promise yourself a reward for when you’re finished - good luck!
My aversion to the dentist is such that I can be triggered just by the smell of the dentist’s office (probably the smell of novacaine), as well as the sound of a drill. The first time I went a couple of months ago, I almost turned around and left when the smell hit me.
I’m determined to see this through. I don’t want to end up in dentures some day!
My hygienist told me that she was amazed that my mouth wasn’t in worse shape after going so long between visits. She attributed to that to my good flossing habits.
My dental practice has their office decorated as a hunting lodge–bears, fake fire place, cool green colors, soft browns. Each dental station keeps up the theme and has it’s own window with a tree planted directly outside. Makes a difference. (I was traumatized as a kid too!)
