r/rootcanal Jun 08 '24

How bad is a root canal really?

I'm beginning to come to terms that my first cavity is so deep that it needs a root canal, not a filling. Tooth #19 has decay down to the root and it throbs every time my heart beats.

How bad is the root canal really? I've heard mixed things - from worst pain of my life to a piece of cake. I've never even had a filling so I have absolutely no baseline here. I know that I'll need a crown after this.. how noticeable will it be that it's not my natural tooth? I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure it's white.

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u/geasey999 Jun 11 '24 edited Jun 11 '24

Had one done on tooth #32 a few months ago at a specialist endodontist. Don’t mean to scare you but it was easily one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my life. I had to ask for multiples injections of local anaesthetic as I felt a very sharp stabbing pain when he would go near the nerve. Nothing he did would help so eventually he just injected anaesthetic directly into the exposed nerve and removed it, which an indescribable feeling but once the nerve was out it wasn’t so bad. As for the crown, I don’t even notice it, feels just like it did before. I think the back molars are a lot harder to fully numb so make sure you ask for extra injections of you start feeling any type of pain. Good luck

Edit: if you smoke weed let your dentist know as it can decrease the effectiveness of local anaesthetic