How to get a root canal
How I did it: It really wasn't as bad as I expected - I've had fillings that were A LOT more painful that had me in tears for weeks after.
Except the inital injections which was painful I didn't feel much otherwise except the discomfort of having a vibrating coil thing resting on my lower teeth.
Not much pain after, less pain than a filling, except from where injection went in which was sore for a few weeks, and slight discomfort with the temporary crown being "too high" but all that took is another quick visit for it to be filled down.
I have to add that I had very little discomfort with the tooth before the root canal removal, so maybe that has something to do with it.
Only thing is I now have a crown and even after three months I'm still not used to it being in my mouth.
Lessons & tips: - DON'T listen to the horror stories out there, I found it less painful than a filling, just get it done and don't put it off or it will get worse!
- Take something to listen to to take your mind off of it.
- I found that reading a lot of information about exactly what was involved really helped. I like to know exactly what's happening and go the endodontist to take me through every stage in the process.
- Talk to other about finding a good dentist - you need to have faith in the person doing your teeth, if you paid that much money for a new outfit you'd look fully into it! It surprises me how many people just stick with there child-hood dentist all their life.
- Just get it over with! You'll feel happy once you've gotten through it!
Resources: A lot of online reading and research. For starters:
http://www.medicinenet.com/root_canal/article.htm
