Yeah…lucky me. After the latest failure a few weeks ago the surgeon threw in the towel so we’re moving ahead with a bridge instead (it’s #9 front tooth so I can’t exactly go without something there).
I’m pretty weird though…I’ve had endo (root canals) on all my front teeth both upper and lower over the years with no previous trauma or obvious cause. I don’t even flinch anymore.
funny you should mention Water Pik – my dentist recommended one the first time i went to him a few years ago, and i’m now a HUGE fan. i’ve never been good at the whole flossing thing, but i swear by the Water Pik. every time i go in, the hygienist asks me if i’ve been using it, and i say “yes, i love that damn thing” and she says “i can tell – it shows. your gums looks so pink and healthy!”
Yes, my Water Pik was my dentist’s recommendation as well. 
I am just home from the endodontist.
He had to drill-n-fill my tooth F I V E T I M E S ! !
Not his fault - the infection was very deep, in my jawbone and it just kept reoccuring - despite two rounds of clindamycin and one of (YUCK!!) metronizodole.
ALL of those were on the same initial bill - amazing! 5 appoinments over 2-1/2 months and ONE BILL.
Speaking of BILLS…
Go to DentalPlans.com and check them out.
I just bought a family policy for my wife and I (I’ll need a crown over my root canal molar, and she looks like she needs a crown)
This is a SAVINGS plan, not insurance, so YMMV
Oh, and yes, I had plenty of pain during all this - the infection was a killer! Thank you hydrocodone for those few hours of really bad pain that just evaporated with a pill. Magic! (like anesthesia)
Just had one on Monday, seemed to go well though I’m sad to have lost the root.
The tooth in question had been sore for almost a year, ever since a filling of the neighbouring tooth somehow caused to be painful to use.
You’ll be okay if you pick the right dentist.
The only calming thing about that was his voice. The description made my jaw twitch. And I’ve only ever had one cavity in my life so I don’t think I have to worry.
Had root canals done years ago. No real problem. Same dentist many years later says I need another one or two. This time recommends me to a specialist. Possibly these are more complex (three-root teeth) plus the specialist can form a better view of whether they are strictly necessary or whether alternative approaches (inc. delay) are viable.
I ask if my dentist can do it (and he’s cheaper and nearer). He tells me this guy does nothing else and is an expert. He (my dentist) does very few root canals these days, so is not as experienced any more. It costs me a small fortune to go to the expert. I trust my dentist, which is why I’ve been seeing him for nearly 40 years (lucky he is about the same age as me), so I am 100% confident up-front tht this is not a ‘professional conspiracy’.
The specialist has all the toys and does a splendid job over about 4 appointments to fix two problematic teeth. Worth every penny - although he was on Wimpole Street (the next one along from Harley Street) so I guess it could have been cheaper if elsewhere, but I guess the best end up in the ‘best’ places.
If you need it done, find the cash, if you possibly can, and go to a specialist.
My root canal was much more pleasant than being hit by the car that ran the red light, then me flying through the air thinking “This is when I die”, landing on my face, the tooth being knocked loose, going to the emergency room, getting x-rays (no broken bones! I was just VERY bruised and sore and had to wear a splint on my leg for a while—still have a lump on my leg where the car struck me), having the tooth pushed back into place and splinted to the neighboring teeth with a big blob of plastic to see if the tooth would reattach and live, and getting stitches put in my lip. The tooth did eventually reattach to the bone or whatever it does, but they tested it with an electric current and the nerve was dead, so they did a root canal. So, since the nerve was dead, there was no pain with the root canal. The bad part is that they used silver filling material and it shows through, so the tooth looks kind of gray—I’m sure these days they would use tooth-colored material for a front tooth. The good part is that I got to keep the tooth.
Oh yeah, there were some other bad parts—
After I flew through the air and hit the ground, I was lying in the street in traffic, dazed and terrified that I would get run over. Then someone pulled me up. I asked “Who are you?” and he said “I’m the driver—I’m the one that hit you.” Someone from a nearby shop said they had called the police. While we waited for the police, one of the passengers from the car started shoving me and saying “We didn’t hit you! We saw you in the road, and we stopped to help, as concerned citizens! Right? That’s what you’re going to tell the police when they come—right?” while shoving me some more. When the police came, he immediately told them his story, but then I told my side of it. I was pretty dazed, didn’t think I was hurt. The police offered me a ride to the ER and I declined, but they kept saying “If you want to go to the Emergency Room, we can take you there” over and over, until it finally dawned on me that they probably couldn’t force me to go, but that it seemed like they thought I should go, so I did.
Afterward the ER folks told me they had called a cab to take me home. I said that I didn’t have money on me to pay for it, and they said no worry, it was pre-paid from a special fund. But when we got to my house the driver demanded payment. I said I’d been told it was pre-paid; he said no it wasn’t, no such thing. Well, he knew where I lived, it was past midnight, roommate was away for the weekend, so I slowly and painfully hobbled up the stairs to the second floor while the driver waited, got cash from my apartment, slowly hobbled down and gave it to the driver, and slowly hobbled upstairs again.
That night I had nightmares that I was being assaulted.
But the root canal? No problem. Also, the police, the ER staff, and the folks at the dental clinic were all lovely.
I had a couple of root canals – agreed with the folks above who said the pain BEFORE the root canal from a tooth gone bad was 1000 x worse than anything during the root canal.
I’d imagine if your insurance can pay for nitrous oxide – aka “analgesic” treatment – it would be a downright relaxing procedure.
Also, as my dentist explained to me, before they apply the rubber cones – which is actually a type of natural rubber called gutta percha – they rinse out the roots with a light bleach or peroxide substance, followed by an application of clove oil, to numb the nerve endings below the roots.
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