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 :(

  • edric@lemm.eeEnglish
    14·
    6 days ago

    I agree with the other comment - root canals aren’t as terrifying as years ago. I had 2 done in the past year and the edodontist was so skilled that I didn’t even feel the anesthesia injection. The entire procedure after that was painless, and there’s literally no pain to deal with afterwards because the nerve is gone. Compare that to when I was a kid in the 90s and it was excruciating.

    • PerogiBoi@lemmy.caOP
      4·
      6 days ago

      I’m relieved to hear it’s not that bad. I guess not knowing what a cavity filling is like is what’s getting to my head. I’ve been so anxious about it all.

      • 200ok@lemmy.world
        2·
        5 days ago

        Just reiterating what the commenter above said. The nerve is dead (hence the root canal) so the actual tooth itself won’t feel any pain.

        In fact, my first root canal was an emergency and they drilled right into my tooth without anesthesia to relieve the pressure. I felt no pain, just relief.

        As others have said, it’s the noises and sensations… Like you can feel sensations of “something is pressing down on my jaw”, but it doesn’t hurt.

        I think it’s also that it feels invasive to have someone in your mouth. It’s an oddly intimate part of the body. I had to remind myself that, “I’m consenting to this”, and, “this person is skilled and helping me”, so I don’t get scared or feel like something is happening to me.

        • PerogiBoi@lemmy.caOP
          2·
          5 days ago

          That’s my main issue. As a kid I had all sorts of painful things done to my mouth without my consent so that’s the toughest part.

      • Badabinski@kbin.earth
        3·
        6 days ago

        Yeah, it’s really not too bad. It’s mostly boring. I brought headphones to my last root canal because I don’t like the sound the tools make (there’s some bone conduction going on, so the headphones let me drown that out) and that made the whole experience much nicer for me. I’m particularly sensitive to sounds, so sound has always been the worst part of any dental work for me.