root canals?

[Milk 1027]

Originally Posted by Fishdadddy

All I can tell you is I've had one and don't plan on another. It took 3 1/2 hours and the novacane wore off half way through (Mutha F*****). I was hanging from the ceiling like a cat that just got attacked by a pit bull.

Your dentist sucks.

[2000v6]

Originally Posted by SSOOCH

If you have pain during a root canal the person doing it sucks! Make sure and go to an Endodontist.

Yep, that's who I have too look for.

[Oddball]

Its no big deal. Just make sure your dentist gives you nitros. They dont call it laughing gas for nothing. I had nitros when I had my root canal done, and I wouldnt have cared if he had done the job with a jack-hammer. As for the pain afterward? The dentist will probably subscribe some decent pain killers. Like I said, its no big deal.

[2000v6]

Originally Posted by Oddball

Its no big deal. Just make sure your dentist gives you nitros. They dont call it laughing gas for nothing. I had nitros when I had my root canal done, and I wouldnt have cared if he had done the job with a jack-hammer. As for the pain afterward? The dentist will probably subscribe some decent pain killers. Like I said, its no big deal.

Yeh, and while I'm at it why don't I just give him the brand new, full nitrous bottle that's in my garage. (I bought it for a friend, who ended up defaulting on it but I found a shop that's willing to trade it for some parts for my cars). That way we'll both fall asleep. lol

[2000v6]

It's just that I never had surgery or anything of such kind. The closest that I ever got to surgery was when I had my cavities filled.

But uh, how far do they get in one session? I'm assuming that the posts go in right?

[Pamaro]

Originally Posted by PQ

I love how the first post after the OP scared the hell out of the OP.
Don't deny it 2000v6. lol

Ok, take it from someone who had had 4 of these things done.

It doesn't really hurt per se' but it's uncomfortable. And when he's done, it's over. You may have a tad bit of soreness in the gums from the needle that injects the novicane but that's it. My dentist doesn't even offer pain medication after a RC. It should be fine. It's just the drilling that freaks everyone out.

And yes, the temporary comes later, and the permanent even later.

I've had 4 of these as well and PQ hit it right on the nose. Uncomfortable, but if you get the laughing gas, you don't notice much anyway

Nothing hurts more than the pain from a full-blown infection, so don't wait too long to get it done. You'll feel better very quickly and will save yourself a lot of pain!

[PQ]

Originally Posted by 2000v6

In a way, I wish that teeth were kind of like a car part. Sure they would need to be fixed, but there would be no reason for anesthetic as they wouldn't have any nerves or anything in them.

Once you have the root canal, you won't have pain from that tooth any more.

One of my 4 was actually on a tooth that had NOTHING wrong with it. I had a my front right top tooth absess and when he did the root canal I could drink cold and hot liquid like never before.

I've never been able to drink icy stuff because my teeth were that sensitive. It was amazing but the other one would still get the cold or hot if I wasn't careful. I went to my dentist and asked if he would do the other one. He said no at first but I insisted. His dad came in (2 of the 3 dentists there were father and son) and said if I signed some sort of waiver that he'd do it. So I did, and he did it. Ever since then I can drink any hot or cold drink with no problem. Best thing I ever did.

It is a cruel joke that God played on us to give us nerves in our teeth. We don't really need them. That was about 9 years ago and it's been great ever since.

[Apex Paul]

Originally Posted by 2000v6

No I dread dentists. It's the only thing that scares me. Honestly, I'd rather go skydiving than going to the dentist.

Okay, I would like to throw my 2 cents into this thread. As the only person posting who has actually performed a root canal, I'd also like to crown myself the "expert" in this thread.

First, your dread/fear of going to the dentist is shared by many. Everyone associates going to the dentist with pain, because that's usually how long people hold out before coming in... until something is hurting. /soapbox

Your case is a little different since this was a trauma caused by your girlfriend kicking you in the face.

Now, I can not diagnose you over the internet, but I can give you information and you can use that however you like.

1. The first question I have is what happened? she kicked you, we know that. But then what?
2. Are the teeth loose?
3. You said chipped, how chipped? (there are several Ellis classifications for fractures and each has a different approach to repairing them)
4. Are they vertically fractured beneath the gingiva?
5. Was there any bleeding?
6. Was that bleeding from the tooth or from the gums?
7. If it was the gums, did it bleed just slightly and along the edges, or was it dripping blood?
8. Does your tooth hurt right now?
9. How long did it hurt after you were kicked?

now...

1. Did your dentist take any radiographs? (X-Rays)
2. Did you get a copy of them?
3. If you did, do you want to post that picture here so we can look at what is going on?
4. Why did he say that you needed the root canal?

It is not unusual to leave obturation until a later time. (obturation is the filling of the canal with material). A temporary filling or crown is good for some time, but they are not to be kept on forever. But it is nothing to worry about if you have the instrumentation done at one visit and the obturation later.

You didn't say which teeth. On anterior teeth when there is a small access for instrumentation, there is often no need for an entire crown but rather just filling the canal with flow-able composite material.

I am not telling you anything in this post that should make you think your dentist is wrong. There are so many variables that it can not be determined from just the layperson description you have given without a comprehensive evaluation and current radiographs.

On some other notes:

• you should never feel any pain when this is going on. That is what anesthesia is for. If you can feel it, then the anesthesia is not adequate. You should be able to feel pressure or movement and touching, but not sharp pain.
• It could easily take several hours (even two days) to do endo depending on the situation. How many canals? Are they sclerotic? Do they have unusual accessory canals? Is the root dilacerated? etc., etc.
• GraysonPeace - endodontists are no more experienced in "numbing the area" than any plain 'ol dentist. The nerves in the face are the nerves in the face, there's no special secret that endodontists have. You probably just picked an endodontist who was more skilled or cared more that you were in pain. I make no statements that there are not dentists out there that don't want to take the time to get you out of pain because time=money. What they forget is that pain=patient leaving and not coming back.
• SSOOCH - An endodontist is not always necessary for a root canal. A competent dentist can handle endo, especially in the anterior. 2nd and 3rd molar endo become increasingly more difficult due to the space restrictions in the mouth and visibility issues. Going to an endodontist for an anterior root canal is like paying Stephen Hawking to do your physics homework. He can do it, but you're gonna pay a lot more. Anterior endo is easier than a 1/4 mile race with your SS against a Geo Metro. No brainer.
• The dentist will certainly prescribe you pain meds afterward. You don't need them. OTC ibuprofin is a better pain medication that Lortabs. But, in the United States we believe TV ads and hype, so "I gotta have some vicodin or I'm not going to make it, Doc". Worldwide the most prescribed drug for pain after dental surgery is ibuprofin. 600mg q4-6h (3 tabs from an OTC bottle every 4-6 hours). In the united states the most prescribed is Lortab (Hydrocodone + APAP) 5/500mg. Go figure.

But uh, how far do they get in one session? I'm assuming that the posts go in right?

I am still assuming these are front teeth. I would expect that they are going to use a fiber post rather than a metal post. The post space can be done at the time of the instrumentation, or it could be done later. It could take an hour, or it could take several hours on multiple appointments. There is too much to answer and anecdotal answers from those here that have had a root canal are really not useful because their experience was a different case.

[Apex Paul]

Originally Posted by PQ

Once you have the root canal, you won't have pain from that tooth any more.

True

Originally Posted by PQ

I went to my dentist and asked if he would do the other one. He said no at first but I insisted. His dad came in (2 of the 3 dentists there were father and son) and said if I signed some sort of waiver that he'd do it. So I did, and he did it. Ever since then I can drink any hot or cold drink with no problem. Best thing I ever did.

I would have said no as well. Don't even know if I would have done it with a waiver. Maybe, but people like to sue you, even after they make their own decision that could be the wrong one.

Originally Posted by PQ

It is a cruel joke that God played on us to give us nerves in our teeth. We don't really need them.

Maybe... but then I'd never be able to afford that new set of D2 Forged rims I've had my eye on

[GraysonPeace]

WOW! Very educational . All I know is I had no pain, where I have had discomfort during a regular filling. If what you say is so then what do endodontist do that a dentist does not?

[Apex Paul]

Originally Posted by GraysonPeace

WOW! Very educational . All I know is I had no pain, where I have had discomfort during a regular filling. If what you say is so then what do endodontist do that a dentist does not?

The #1 thing endodontists do is treat patients that general dentists do not want to treat! lol.

A lot of general dentists do not like to do root canals (endodontic root canal therapy). Why? Because it takes a long time, it takes some skill, they don't get that much experience in dental school with endo, they don't want the extra insurance risk. The truth is that root canal therapy is pretty good most of the time, but a lot of the time it can fail. That does not mean that you have a bad dentist (but it doesn't mean you have a good one either if it goes well!) however, it does require that you carry more insurance.

Endodontist go to school for two extra years (regular dental school is 4 years of undergrad + 4 years of dental school). During that time they learn special techniques to handle teeth that have more difficult circumstances for doing root canal therapy (RCT). Tooth roots can vary widely, shape, size, course, number, etc. Endodontist are trained in the use of specialized equipment for doing RCT and other procedures.

They also generally have things in their office that a general dentists does not, for example very high power surgical endoscopes for looking down inside teeth while they are working. For a general dentist, this equipment is not normally useful, so spending tens of thousands of dollars on the set up is a waste of your resources.

I'm not trying to take anything away from endodontists at all. They are skilled at what they do for a reason. But anterior teeth, the ones from canine to canine on the top and bottom, are simple procedures. Unless those anterior roots are dilacerated (curved) they can be done easily. Premolars are usually pretty easy, but they can start to have more accessory canals, more pulp stones and calcifications inside, i.e. more problems. As you get further back in the mouth it becomes a space issue, because your mouth will only open so far. It gets tough to get the instruments in there and work. Direct vision becomes a problem. If you notice, endodontists are always wearing very large loupes (telescopes) on their glasses. that is all about vision. I wear a 3x loupe and most of my peers use a 2.5x. (i like a narrow field of view) Endo's use 5x-6x! Basically when they look down into your mouth all they see is the one tooth they are working on at that time.

I do fillings on people all the time without any anesthesia at all. Needing anesthesia for a filling is dependent on how deep into the tooth the decay goes, and how sensitive you are... especially once the "drill" reaches the dentin and starts nearing the pulp. However, if you are in pain, then anesthesia is probably not adequate.

Now, there are a lot of other reasons for anesthesia to be inadequate, for example if you have a lot of infection the pH in your tissues drops (becomes more acidic) The anesthesia (Sorry PQ, we stopped using Novocaine in the 1940's but everyone still refers to it that way. Again, marketing to Americans works!) is basic, so the higher acidity causes the basic medicament to become neutralized and it takes more to be effective. 0.5-1.0 carpules (about 1.7ml) of 2% Lidocaine is generally enough to get a tooth numb enough to yank 'er out of your head without you even knowing it's gone. I have had to use as many as 9 carpules on one lady, and once I remember using 5 Lidocaine plus 2 Septocaine (Articaine) plus 1 Carbocaine (Mepivacaine)!!! all on one lady because she had so much infection. That is like going from 9mm's to a 12 guage to a 50 calibre machine gun.

Also, sometimes we can't give you as much as may be needed because of some medical condition that you have. The amount of anesthesia has to be adjusted to make sure nothing goes wrong. I can tell you how many times this conversation has happened:

Me: "So, Ms. X do you take any recreational drugs?"
Ms. X "No."
Me: "Okay. We have to be careful because some things we give here can be fatal when given to someone who has used cocaine, for example. Yeah, they just drop dead in the chair."
Ms. X "Um, well....."

Best ever: had an 87 year old guy in the chair and I told him his blood pressure was kind of high. He asked "Would it be high if I smoked a lot of weed last night?"

Classic.

[2000v6]

Originally Posted by GraysonPeace

WOW! Very educational . All I know is I had no pain, where I have had discomfort during a regular filling. If what you say is so then what do endodontist do that a dentist does not?

From what I've heard, a dentist does general and cosmetic stuff. While a endodentist specificially works on root canals, it's his/her speciality. A dentist can basically do everything but most of the time don't have that in depth training, education, or knowledge in a speciality. Like I'd be more comfortable having a dentist just do regular fillings because he has the experience, an endodist is basically the person that is suited to do root canals.

It's kind of how you have a doctor that does general and pediatric stuff and owns the local clinic. Then you have the surgeon who the doctor refers his patients too. Then if the surgeon just does general operations rather than specifically only one "area" of the body, such as brain surgeries, so he would send you to a neurosurgeon.

I also do not mean to insult apex, but a friend of mine who has finished college was considering becoming a dentist, and go to a dental school. Guess what? He was studying business and was told that as long as he maintained the same grades but also took one semester of physics, one semester of chemistry, and two of biology he could easily gain admission. Also dental school lasts 2 years, if I'm not mistaken. That's one of the reasons why I dread going to a dentist.

The doctors that I know on the other hand, whether they were born here in the states or in europe,all went to highly ranked, actually on par or even better than the ivies, colleges in europe where the schools actually concentrated on premed. They then came here and went to the best of the best medical schools, and studied under the best doctors during their residency periods. (I don't know though, maybe I'm just lucky to know such doctors)

[Oddball]

Dentists have been doing root-canals for YEARS. Thats what they do.

[GraysonPeace]

Camaro5.com is AWESOME! I am blogging with the best and brightest!!