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I just had my first root canal today on a lower molar. The tooth had been sensitive to heat, cold, and pressure for a long time. I had a crack also. I found that the rubber mouth guard helped a lot in keeping my mouth open, so it didn't take much effort. The worst part was the nervousness at the beginning -- mostly for nothing -- and the needles, not because they were painful, but because I needed four of them to get my tooth numb enough to work on. At the very beginning of the drilling, I felt a tiny little bit of pain, but it quickly went away. The dentist said, “From here on, it's just boring,” and he was right. The drilling, filing, and cleaning had to be repeated over and over, and it did take a lot of time. After the canals were all cleaned out, he took another X-ray and said it had come out alright. Then he filled each canal with filling material and used what he called a "warm instrument" that made stinky smoke and sealed the material. The entire left side of my mouth, tongue, and lips were more numb than they'd ever felt in my life, but otherwise I felt fine. I came home and was able to eat dinner, chewing on one side. Now, three hours and 400 mg of ibuprofen later, I am feeling comfortable. I have no soreness or jaw pain, just a little tenderness around the tooth area itself, which he told me to expect for a few days. All in all, this was not as bad as I thought it was going to be!

My dentist told me that in order to save my lower molar, it had to undergo through the process of root canal. Though I didn't have any idea of what I was all about I agreed. I was really desperate in saving my molar that I went for it for 4 thousand pesos. (it's supposed to be 5k, but since she's been my dentist for years, she reduced the charge). Now, I already had 7 sessions. A temporary pasta was put this morning. She told me that she will already close it permanently after 6 days. Now, I am just wondering why she didn't remove any nerve in my molar. She just cleaned it with oxygenated water. It had puss so she said that injecting oxygenated water will remove it.

I just had my first root canal done today on a molar (#15) and I am in a lot of pain, the procedure was not that bad compare to the pain afterwards, I asked the doctor to prescribe me something strong and he said I would not need it, well he was wrong. On top of that I did not research enough before seeing him, and surprise, I have to see a different dentist to install the crown which will cost me in the neighborhood of $450 to $ 500 besides the $600 I paid for the root canal. I am disgusted to say the least, I advised anyone who is going to need this done to do your homework and avoid going to 3 different dentists and paying almost $2,000 for a procedure that it is both painful and long.

I had a root canal over 40 years ago on a front tooth. The tooth started to cause pain, the dentist took an x-ray which showed nothing. With in a few days the tooth abscessed, the dentist drained the abscess and I was told I would lose the tooth and would have to either have a bridge or implant. I had the tooth pulled but decided against the implant because of cost and I am going with the bridge. As the x-rays showed nothing I wonder if it was really necessary to remove the tooth. It did not hurt after it was drained but causes me discomfort now with the temporary bridge. I am sorry that I did not pursue other options that may have not caused me to lose the tooth, as I do not have gum disease. I was told that I had a split root although I can not find any such condition. I suggest that anyone pursue all options before going ahead with procedures unless you know for sure that it is your only option.

I had a root canal about 1 1/2 years ago at a local dentist who had been recommended to me. It was a cracked molar that had been sensitive to pressure, cold and hot for some time. After the procedure, and a normal amount of time for the soreness to go away, I was still experiencing sensitivity. I went back several times. He kept x-raying it and told me that the tooth looked fine. Well, it was not fine. Just recently, I developed a really bad toothache in that tooth. My new dentist immediately sent me to an endodontist, who discovered that the first dentist completely missed a root canal (he did 3 canals; the tooth had 4). I had a serious abscess that I am taking strong antibiotics to clear up, so he can finish the procedure in a few weeks. I am considering filing a complaint with the state Board of Dental Examiners, but first, I am trying to find out if this constitutes incompetence on his part. It seems to me that, after going back several times complaining of pain, he would have sent me to a specialist to get it checked out, but that never even came up. The expense and pain have been off the charts.

I have had 3 root canals and all have gone very smoothly. My latest one (this morning) was the hardest one to do. I started having jaw, mouth, and ear pain about 2 months earlier that would come and go. Initially, I thought it was TMJ because I tend to grind my teeth. My original dentist took an x-ray which showed I had a bad infection in my top molar. After trying for an hour to numb me, he referred me to an Endodontist. He then tried to numb me also, to no avail. The new x-ray that the specialist took showed a major infection and inflammation, which was blocking the Novocaine from taking effect. I was put on antibiotics and steroids and returned a week later. This time he was able to numb me enough to do all four roots within the molar. He was seriously a miracle worker! The worst part was keeping my mouth open for an hour. I felt maybe two seconds of a little bit of pain when he first began, but then nothing. He put in a temporary filling that will last 1-2 months and then I go back to my regular dentist for the crown. After the procedure I had no pain, just a tiny bit of soreness in my jaw. I haven't even had to take any pain medication.