Tell me about your root canal

[Hydrocket]

I had a cracked tooth at the very back. They said they wanted to do a root canal. In the end, since it was a very back tooth I just had them yank it.

[Paul K]

I went blind after mine.

Not kidding.

Numbing stuff got into my optic nerve. I could see again after 3-4 hours.

Sucked being upside down for 3 hours whilst I was being worked on, but not a biggie.

[porwolf]

Had a bad tooth that hurt. It needed a root-canal treatment. The dentist said, these days, it is just as cost effective to get an implant in its place. The cost of the root canal treatment itself compares to the cost of the implant. And you need a new crown anyway which cost about the same either way. I decided for the implant to have a more permanent solution.

[oilcan]

Much to do about nothing. I've had 2 and was waiting for the worst each time. I didn't have any pain at all- other than the anticipation of the initial numbing shot.

[89911]

Originally Posted by porwolf

Had a bad tooth that hurt. It needed a root-canal treatment. The dentist said, these days, it is just as cost effective to get an implant in its place. The cost of the root canal treatment itself compares to the cost of the implant. And you need a new crown anyway which cost about the same either way. I decided for the implant to have a more permanent solution.

Yes and no, depends on insurance. Generally a root canal is picked up 100% and the crown 50-70%. Implants are usually non covered, so your footing the bill for the $3000 where as the Root canal and crown would wind up $500-1000 depending on insurance. Self pay and it gets closer but still cheaper for the Root canal and crown.

[porwolf]

Originally Posted by 89911

Yes and no, depends on insurance. Generally a root canal is picked up 100% and the crown 50-70%. Implants are usually non covered, so your footing the bill for the $3000 where as the Root canal and crown would wind up $500-1000 depending on insurance. Self pay and it gets closer but still cheaper for the Root canal and crown.

Yes, for me it was self pay. And where I received the treatment, actually for two teeth, the cost ran practically the same. And on the long run, I understand maintenance on implants, if repair are needed later, is easier. We will see.

[dennis in se pa]

Why a temporary filling after a root canal.I saw the xray after the procedure. The holes are very narrow. Why not just put a permanent filling in place. Makes no sense to me.

[recycled sixtie]

I have root canals that are older than some of the forum members. I think I have at least three. I have a root canal tooth that has a cap on it. No implants for me. I avoid chewing on hard candies and candied nuts. I love root canals especially after they are completed!

[legion]

Because of some dental trauma at 8 (monkey bars) and 18 (college roommate's fist), both of my top front teeth have crowns. The trauma caught up with me and one of the roots developed an infection. Had to have a root canal through the crown which required two endontic appointments and one dentist appointment to repair the crown.

The root canal itself I just remember being boring. It was 45 minutes of laying in an awkward position with the smell of burning keratin. I kept my eyes closed because I didn't want to know what was going on.

I had a second root canal in January. I guess a root on my lower front had died. The tooth was already chipped due to the above trauma. It had been aching for awhile and I had started using Sensodyne, which worked wonders. When I mentioned this to my dentist, he did a pulp test and determined that the root was dead.

The root canal for that tooth took like 25 minutes and he did the filling.

[dentist90]

Originally Posted by dennis in se pa

Why a temporary filling after a root canal.I saw the xray after the procedure. The holes are very narrow. Why not just put a permanent filling in place. Makes no sense to me.

Probably one of two reasons:

1. the root canal procedure is not complete. The pulp/nerve may have been cleaned out but the canals are not filled yet. We usually place a medicament into the canals and close it off with a temporary filling until the finish appointment. This is common if the tooth is badly infected or if it is an emergency and there just isn't time to do it all in one step.

2. there is going to be a post/buildup and crown done as the definitive restoration next. There is no point putting a permanent filling in the root canal treated tooth if it is going to be removed to place a post next month. Teeth that have had root canal treatment, especially back teeth and teeth with big fillings n them, are usually crowned to avoid having them crack later. Root canal treated teeth are weaker than non-treated teeth.

Do either of these situations apply in your case?

[Deschodt]

IMO this is one of the areas that makes me happy we live in modern times... My first one was (for being stupid) 20+y ago and it sucked... I've since gotten 4 more in the past 5 years (I grind my teeth and cracked all my molars) and they were no more painful than watching a musical... Pretty amazing, never felt a thing... I recommend taking some Advil right before and after to cushion the blow, is all...

[john70t]

One of the blessings of a root canal is that the nerve can be partially dead at that point.(I've heard)

Only had one myself but it was painless and uneventful.

I did spend several hours yesterday getting a replacement crown.
It was one of the few times in life to bump the rev limiter threshhold of pain. Even a feather would have set me off and the airgun was pure agony. They were working with a stump of a tooth and that nerve was just under the surface if not raw. Yowsa.

[dentist90]

Originally Posted by legion

Because of some dental trauma at 8 (monkey bars) and 18 (college roommate's fist), both of my top front teeth have crowns. The trauma caught up with me and one of the roots developed an infection. Had to have a root canal through the crown which required two endontic appointments and one dentist appointment to repair the crown.

Ha! Kindred spirits. The combination of clumsiness and buck teeth cost me my two front teeth in grade 2. I have had a succession of crowns since, and orthodontics, and I don't fall on my face as often anymore. But one of mine went sour too. Got to experience my root canal specialist friend's work 1st hand. That was such a BS session, so much clownery. But absolutely painless... and I'm no braver than any of you guys!
Now I worry about the day that my root canal treated tooth snaps off... because that is not uncommon. Maybe I wouldn't be so busy if I was missing a front tooth?

May Saint Apollonia bless you all! (patron saint of dental sufferers... Google it!)

[red-beard]

I had 3 done inside of a year, around 2013. One of my dentists said that the time period I had the original fillings, the dentists were very aggressive in removing tooth structure.

[dentist90]

The pulp dying can be caused by deep decay or the trauma that results from filling these cavities, often decades after they are filled. Repeated replacement of fillings, or crowning of teeth, also increase the insult to the squishy tissue inside your tooth.

What I have found to be an epidemic over the years is fracture of the tooth that can propagate down into the nerve. This is so common in teeth that have had amalgam (silver) fillings placed, which is the case for most of us here. The fillings are very good at filling and sealing the cavity, but they do not give any strength back to the tooth. It creates a weak point that allows fractures to begin to split the tooth in half. After a couple of decades of chewing force it is almost predictable:







I have a couple of teeth with cracks just like the upper photo that have been crowned (I clench my teeth... go figure). Fingers crossed that the crack doesn't keep going deeper and I end up needing more root canals. Even I am not immune

Taking the nerve out (root canal) will alleviate the pain symptoms, but you can see that unless the tooth is reinforced with a crown it WILL split down the middle. We don't have a treatment for split roots yet other than extraction.