Root canals for ds--please tell me what to expect, we're all scared

[Harriet Vane]

Hi folks,

 

Ds has to have two root canals on his two front teeth that were broken while playing basketball.

 

I've always heard dreadful things about root canals.

 

Please tell me what to expect for ds.

 

FWIW he has no idea that there is anything to dread. He sees it as just another step towards getting his new teeth. However, knowing ds, he would feel terribly betrayed if it hurts and I didn't tell him.

 

So please, tell ME what to expect as honestly as you can so that I can be prepared.

 

Also, I would like to tell him on that day, not too long before the work starts, something like, "You're going to be in the dentist's chair for what feels like a long time . . . " He will need me to tell him if it will hurt in the chair or afterward--he will prefer to know ahead of time rather than be surprised with it. Can you recommend what you might say in this situation?

 

Thanks.

[Jan in SC]

I've had several root canals and they aren't that bad. There will be shots in his mouth, but he might not even realize he is getting them after the numbing cream.

 

If an experienced endodontist is doing this work, he should be great. Mine offers to let me walk around in the middle of the procedure, if I need too! If you have an ipod/ cd player and headphones, they help a lot. Also, sunglasses are great for that bright light.

 

Good luck!!

[HayesW]

HE will be in the chair for a while. They will give him nitrous oxide, so while he is in the chair, he will be very comfortable. He will be SORE afterwards. My doc gave me pain meds. I took them for the first 2 days every 6 hours. I took them at night for a couple more hours. Day 7 I got worse again.

 

HOWEVER, my root canals were because of a sudden abcess. Also, the work was in the back of my mouth, so my jaw was REALLY sore. I would think his pain would be much less.

[Carrie12345]

My 6yo had a root canal a few months ago, but dh took her, so I'm not much help.

 

We have an amazing ped. dentist who had already done a couple of surface cavities on her (and other dd) WITHOUT any drugs, and she experienced no pain at all. She says the "worst" pain with the RC was the pinch of the shot.

 

I hate to say it, but I think the experience is going to be completely dependent on the skill of the dentist and the pain tolerance of the child. The fact that he has no sense of dread is a HUGE advantage though. I've been able to master mind over matter for childbirth, but not for the dentist. Not by a long shot!

 

:grouphug:

[Twigs]

I just had a root canal in December. The endodontist was very careful about my not having any pain.

 

Since it is hard to talk during the procedure, tell your son to raise his hand if he has pain to let the dentist know - they aren't mind readers.

 

Since root canals are procedures involving the nerves, they would be very painful if not for the anesthetics, but nowadays the technology has improved greatly and I think the dentists are much more concerned about the patient's comfort. Be sure to have the dentist carefully explain the procedure to your son and what he should expect in terms of pain & how your son should communicate with the dentist.

 

What surprised me the most was they put a rubber dam in my mouth - sort of hard to explain - but it is sheet of rubber that keeps the "stuff" (tooth grit, etc.) out of your mouth. It wasn't uncomfortable for me at all & I liked having my mouth "protected" from the work.

 

With a good dentist, root canals are not so bad.

 

Best wishes for your son.:grouphug:

[elegantlion]

I hate to say it, but I think the experience is going to be completely dependent on the skill of the dentist and the pain tolerance of the child. The fact that he has no sense of dread is a HUGE advantage though. I've been able to master mind over matter for childbirth, but not for the dentist. Not by a long shot!

 

:grouphug:

 

:iagree:I've had a couple of root canals, including one of my broken front tooth. He'll be sore, in the chair a while, and if he's not used to dental tx it may feel like they're trying to stuff everything but the kitchen sink in his mouth.

 

He'll be at an advantage in the long run by having the root canals done now. I had my done long after the caps had been in place, it made the procedure harder. Also it discolored the tooth and my caps need to be redone. So this may save some stress down the road as they'll probably plan for this.

[gingersmom]

I have had several root canals performed by my dentist.

 

The shot was exactly like getting a filling (about a second of ouch) and after that it was just boring boring boring.

 

My dentist has cable tv so I was able to watch tv. I even fell asleep one time (thats how long and boring it was).

 

I had no pain afterwards.

 

 

*** I had mine performed by dentist instead of specialist because I have no dental insurance and my dentist will give me a special rate and let me pay over time. He said if he felt it was so bad he would patch me up and send me off to specialist. Luckily there were no complications and he was able to do them all.

[Twigs]

Also, the dentist gave me prescriptions for antibiotics (I had an abscess) and painkillers (I only took 2 of them &, believe me, I would have taken all of them if I had pain!)

[sparrow]

I've had two root canals. I didn't find the pain to be any worse than getting a filling...the pinch of the shot is the worst. The time in the chair is what became almost unbearable, once I started thinking about it. I would ask the dentist beforehand if it would be possible to take a break and walk around in the middle of the procedure.

 

Really, as far as actual pain goes, it is not that bad. His mouth may be sore from holding it open for so long.

 

Best wishes :grouphug:. This stuff is always so scary for mom :(.

[LarlaB]

I had my first & only root canal last year, and it was on my back molar....molars have more root chambers so they take longer. The length of it was what I remember- no pain. :) Really, it was better than a cavity because virtually no drilling (on a minute or so). I was totally numb and just had to have my mouth open W--I--D--E for a while. The jaw pain was the only pain I had , and your DS likely won't have that.

 

:grouphug:

[Krista in LA]

I've had several root canals done and personally, I would rather have one of them than a filling. A front tooth shouldn't take horribly long since there should only be one root. First there's the numbing, then they drill to get to the root but this might not be much since his tooth is broken. After that, they take measurements of the root by sticking what is basically a little wire into the root. Then they start cleaning it out with a tiny little file and put some medicine up into the root before sealing it up. Most of my root canals have been done over 2 appts and they haven't been that long each time. My dentist always suggest taking some otc Tylenol or Motrin when I get home, but I haven't needed to yet - on some root canals, I've had a bit of soreness later that day, but not bad enough that I felt the need to take something for it.

 

Good luck to both of you.

[KatieJ]

Our daughter had to have a root canal for the exact same reason, altho it was not done at the time of the accident, but many years later. she said the thought of it was way worse than the procedure itself.

I have had several as well. OUr dentist does not use the gas, so just shots...but really, other than a long time in the chair, they were no big deal.

[usetoschool]

My son had a root canal when he was about 9. It was fairly long and he was a little fuzzy headed afterward because he sat in the chair with his mouth full of stuff for sooo long but he doesn't recall any pain. He did have gas to relax - standard procedure at our pediatric dentist but didn't have any ill effects from it afterwards and didn't really complain of any discomfort afterwards. The only problem was that he got a little bit panicky when he felt like he couldn't swallow after having his mouth open and so much stuff in it for so long. They just sat him up for a minute and showed him that he could still swallow fine and then went back to to work and he was good with it. Our dentist allows parents in the room so I was there for the whole thing. Long but root canals are really not as big a deal as they used to be (never had any experience with a painful one). Although I had one nearly 20 years ago and it wasn't any big deal either. The worst part was the shot.

[AngieW in Texas]

I am a dental wimp. I have had two root canals with no problem.

 

The first one was completed in a single visit. I was able to go straight from the dentist's office to lunch and eat without any problems at all.

 

The second one required two visits, but I don't remember why. I was in some pain after the first visit and was very glad that he was going to be finishing the job the very next day. Again, after it was done I was able to go straight to lunch with no problems at all.

[Lolly]

Dd said it feels like getting a cavity filled, but you are in the chair a long, long time. She did request extra pain meds as she would start to feel pain.

[MariannNOVA]

I had root canal on a front tooth some years ago - I brought an iPod or something like that. The thought of root canal was infinitely worse than the actual procedure - really.

 

Please try to reassure him that this is not something he needs to be frightened about. The process of root canal is removing the nerve - there is no pain once the nerve is removed and none to remove the nerve as he will be numb. Everyone there will be focused on making certain that he is comfortable and pain-free - he is going to be the center of attention.

 

FYI, what will be most sore when he is finished and the anesthetic wears off is the spot on the roof of his mouth where he received the injection - tylenol will help with that soreness. The shot is not painful as numbness begins almost immediately, and a topical (swab) agent is applied first so the spot is numb already -- it is only the next day that the spot where the injection is done will feel sore - but nothing major -- he will just be aware of it.

 

By some chance will he be going to a pediatric office with tv screens and movies in the ceiling tiles so he will be distracted? Hope so!

 

Thoughts and prayers - :grouphug: - but as far as pain and discomfort, please reassure him that the fall was probably the worst of it.

Edited May 4, 2010 by MariannNOVA

[~Kirsten~]

From the perspective of a child getting root canals on the front teeth, I don't remember the pain itself. My jaw was definitely tired/sore from being open. The injections (and as another poster mentioned, the injection site afterward, as it will likely be the roof of the mouth) will be sore, but not so much the teeth. But the scariest part to me was the scraping to get all the root removed. It felt like, possibly, my teeth would be pulled out of my mouth. I didn't like the noise at the time, and I really hated that pulling feeling. Now, I had knocked those teeth out already, so perhaps that was the reason for that fear. But that was the worst part (and sadly, the part that has stuck with me for...oh...20+ years). ETA: Even that wasn't outrageously horrible. I just mention it since I was 13 or so when I went through this, and that is something I remember. I wouldn't mention it to him as "scary" but simply as information--"They're going to scrape out the root, and you might feel a tugging sensation, but don't worry! The dentist knows what he/she is doing." Does that make sense? I don't want to make you more scared! It's just something you might want to mention, to prepare him.

 

I would definitely second taking an iPod. It will help drown out some of the sounds of drilling and scraping. It will definitely feel long to him, so letting him know that upfront is a great idea. I don't think you have to emphasize the pain aspect, though. Really, he shouldn't feel anything beyond the injections. The roof of the mouth injection is a little worse than one into the side of the jaw, but I'd imagine they'll numb the surface first, which helps. There will also probably be several injections rather than just one. But once that's done, he shouldn't feel a thing. If he does, I'd remind him to mention it. They'll want to know, and they'll fix it so he has no sensation.

 

Continued prayers and hugs! :grouphug: I'm so sorry you all have to go through this.

Edited May 4, 2010 by ~Kirsten~

[happi duck]

When I had a root canal I wasn't prepared for the pain once the numbness wore off. I think being prepare for that and pre-medicating if possible would've helped. During the work I didn't like the weird smell.

[Perry]

I haven't had a root canal, but I had a crown lengthening procedure (reshaping of the jawbone) in preparation for a crown last fall . My dentist had told me it would probably be sufficient, but there was a chance I'd need a root canal also, depending on how deep the crack in the tooth was. As the periodontist was getting ready to do the crown lengthening, I asked her if she'd be able to tell once she got going if the fracture was severe enough that I'd need a root canal, because if it was I'd rather just bail and have her pull the tooth. She laughed, and said "What I'm going to do to you today is way worse than a root canal!"

 

It turned out not to be that bad. I didn't feel a thing, although the sawing and grinding was unpleasant. If I had to do it again I'd ask for some Xanax, just because I found the whole ordeal so stressful and anxiety producing. But the actual procedure was really no big deal. I had good pain meds for 24 hours after, and the pain was very tolerable.

 

So sorry you're having to deal with this. :grouphug:

[ChristusG]

I had my only root canal last year. I felt nothing during the procedure. The only thing that bothered me was how long I had to hold my mouth open. Afterwards, I took some Motrin....once on the afternoon of the procedure, and once the day after. No major pain or anything.