I just learnt a sore tooth of mine is caused by my tooth root never fully closing (due to getting braces and shifting my teeth around). Now at 30 I need a root canal.

I’ve never even had a cavity before. I’m legit terrified. Teeth are the one thing that are much worse than nails on chalkboard for me.

How was your experience been? Any words of advice or words of encouragement? I could use it :(

  • @Rolando
    5•9 hours ago

    Like everyone else, I agree that pain management can be pretty good these days. For me the experience was:

    • dentist comes in, says hi, reviews what’s going to happen, asks if you have any questions; tell them if you feel nervous, it’s ok
    • doctor puts a “local anesthesia” (something on a q-tip) to your gum, so the needle won’t hurt too much
    • then the doctor injects the “real” anesthesia in the gum. (an assistant may do this part - it varies) Depending on how deep they need to put it, you may feel a bit of pain, but not too bad. Pinch your arm moderately hard, and imagine that happening in your gum, and that’s the most I’ve ever felt for a very deep injection for a removal. it lasts about 1 second. (some places might give you nitrous oxide for this part, but I’ve never had that.) They may give more than 1 injection, depending on the situation. From this point on you should feel no pain.
    • doctor/assistant goes away for 10-15 minutes to let the anesthesia spread. your mouth starts to feel numb.
    • the dentist comes back with an assistant, they get organized (figuring out what tools they need, etc) From this point on they’re mostly just drilling or doing whatever they need, and your job is just to move your head however they want and keep your mouth open and spit when they tell you. it’s a little boring, tbh, at one point I almost dozed off and made a bit of a snoring sound.
    • it can be a little weird having saliva pool in your mouth. the assistant should be vacuuming it out regularly. if they’re not doing this often enough, let them know. It is also very very helpful if you can breathe through your nose. if you have a problem with this just let them know.

    Good luck, let us know how it goes!

    • @[email protected]OP
      3•9 hours ago

      I really appreciate the play by play 🩷 I’ve had an implant and wisdom teeth extracted so those steps all checked out. One thing that really causes anxiety for me is experiencing those sounds, vibrations, smells, lighting. They all blend together for me when I’m stressed (or high) and it can cause a really terrifying experience for me. I’m hoping that I can get either nitrous oxide or a general anesthetic or just take an anti anxiety pill beforehand

      • @Rolando
        3•8 hours ago

        I think a general anesthetic, where they just knock you completely out, is usually considered unnecessary for a root canal, but you can ask. If you have anti-anxiety pills prescribed, that might work, just let the dentist know beforehand. Some places have movies or some other kind of “patient distraction” because yeah, it can get a little unnerving hearing all those sounds.

        • @[email protected]OP
          3•8 hours ago

          I’m being referred to a specialist who apparently offers general. From the sounds of it here it’s probably overkill but knowing how I respond to tooth trauma, I’ll pay extra for it 🥲 I have a prescription for Xanax that I’ve never used or tried. I don’t know how it affects me though so I’m hesitant to go that route.

          • @Rolando
            2•6 hours ago

            Xanax would probably help, but be careful using it for the first time because sometimes it can make one just fall asleep.