Should my son do this dental procedure with no one with him?

[Indigo Blue]

My son needs a root canal. He lives alone and is two hours away. It’s a pretty bad tooth, and I’m thinking they will put him under? The dentist is sending him to a root canal specialist. It will only be five minutes from his apartment. 
 

Is there any reason he can’t get transportation to and from the appointment and be alone afterward in his apartment? He doesn’t want me to drive up and go with him because he thinks it’s an inconvenience for me and he says he’ll be just fine. 
 

I’ve never had a wisdom tooth pulled or a root canal. I don’t know what to expect for him. 
 

Is there any reason he needs someone with him? I won’t try to convince him to let me drive him if it’s perfectly fine for him to handle this. But I absolutely don’t mind going up there. 
 

I don’t know how it got so bad so fast. He had a checkup/cleaning just six months ago. 
 

 

[Shoeless]

They may not put him under. I've had several root canals and have not been under for any of them.  I drove myself there and back home.

They'll give him a lot of novocaine and maybe have him take some tylenol before he leaves their office. 

I was given a prescription for some heavy duty pain meds for afterward, but with the opiod crisis, it seems like they don't do that anymore.  He likely won't feel like going back to work after the procedure. I tried and made it about an hour before the novocaine wore off and needed to go home.

 

Edited September 15, 2022 by MissLemon

[Denise in IN]

I've had several root canals and they've always just numbed my mouth.  I was fine to drive myself home from the appointment.

Does he have a consult appointment with the endo prior to the procedure?  If so, they would let him know at that point if he should have someone else available to drive him.

[Indigo Blue]

Just now, Denise in IN said:

I've had several root canals and they've always just numbed my mouth.  I was fine to drive myself home from the appointment.

Does he have a consult appointment with the endo prior to the procedure?  If so, they would let him know at that point if he should have someone else available to drive him.

Gosh, he’s in pain. I don’t know how he’ll wait if he has to do a consult and then who knows how long for the appointment. You’re probably right, though. 

[Indigo Blue]

They had a hard time at the dentist getting him numb. Three rounds of numbing shots and still couldn’t get him numb and do the root canal. So, he’s going to a specialist. That’s why I thought they might sedate him. 

Edited September 15, 2022 by Indigo Blue

[KatieJ]

I have had more root canals than I want to admit to. I have never been put under, just numbed, even at a specialist office once. I have never had an issue with pain afterwards that some OTC pain meds didn’t handle and then only for a day or 2. 

 

[Indigo Blue]

1 minute ago, KatieInMN said:

I have had more root canals than I want to admit to. I have never been put under, just numbed, even at a specialist office once. I have never had an issue with pain afterwards that some OTC pain meds didn’t handle and then only for a day or 2. 

 

Thanks. Ok, so he’ll probably be fine, then…..to go alone.

Edited September 15, 2022 by Indigo Blue

[SquirrellyMama]

I've never been put under for root canals either. Each time I went to the Endodontist. 

Has he gotten any pain pills from his doctor? I had to get pills so I could rest. The pain was so intense. The root canal was a piece of cake after the pain of the bad tooth.

I feel his pain!  Kelly

[Shoeless]

5 minutes ago, Indigo Blue said:

They had a hard time at the dentist getting him numb. Three rounds of numbing shots and still couldn’t get him numb and do the root canal. So, he’s going to a specialist. That’s why I thought they might sedate him. 

The endo should be able to get him numb.  I think they get a lot of extra training on that sort of thing since they do it so much.

[Danae]

Agreeing with everyone else that it will probably just be numbed and he can drive himself.

I’ve had one root canal and one broken tooth extracted, both with a specialist and for both the numbing was much faster and more complete than for regular dental work.  I think they go straight for the main nerve or something. 

[Amethyst]

The endodontist will get him numb. There is almost never any need to sedate a patient unless he is extremely anxious. He’ll be fine. And he will feel a lot better after he has been to the endodontist. No need to drive him to the appointment. 

[Terabith]

Honestly, root canals are only a pain in the butt for your pocketbook.  I can't imagine anyone being put under for one.  They're expensive and annoying but not painful.

[Amethyst]

2 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Honestly, root canals are only a pain in the butt for your pocketbook.  I can't imagine anyone being put under for one.  They're expensive and annoying but not painful.

Right? I have had patients fall asleep during them. Once the patient is numb, they’re out of pain and it’s not a big deal for the patient. 

Edited September 15, 2022 by Amethyst

[Indigo Blue]

20 minutes ago, Amethyst said:

Right? I have had patients fall asleep during them. Once the patient is numb, they’re out of pain and it’s not a big deal for the patient. 

Thanks so much!! I feel better now. 

[Arcadia]

52 minutes ago, Indigo Blue said:

They had a hard time at the dentist getting him numb. Three rounds of numbing shots and still couldn’t get him numb and do the root canal. So, he’s going to a specialist. That’s why I thought they might sedate him. 

I have a problem with local anesthesia in that it takes a larger than safe amount to get me numb. So I could feel some pain during root canal treatment. Because they used so much local anesthesia, I ended up with numb gums until the next day.  I think sedation is only done for wisdom tooth surgery when the patient request for general anesthesia. 
 

ETA: It was not only the amount of local anesthesia needed, I also needed more time before the anesthesia takes effect. Same goes for me for general anesthesia so I always had to let my surgeons know.

Edited September 15, 2022 by Arcadia

[gardenmom5]

If he's being sedated - he needs someone with him.  Only one of mine wasn't still "out of it" after "coming out" of general anesthesia from wisdom teeth extraction.  (I think he got a very light dose).  He still wouldn't have been considered safe to drive (if he drove).   two of them had no memory of walking from the car to the house and getting in their beds to finish sleeping off the drugs.

why is he going to a maxillary surgeon?  is it because of the tooth itself?  or that's what his insurance requires?

we've always had root canals with a local without any issues.  (and you can drive after a local.) There have been a couple times my (generalized - related to adrenals) anxiety was acting up - and we put the lead apron on me.  it had all the comfort of a weighted vest/blanket and actually significantly calmed my anxiety.  and a blanket because I was cold.

[vonfirmath]

1 hour ago, Indigo Blue said:

My son needs a root canal. He lives alone and is two hours away. It’s a pretty bad tooth, and I’m thinking they will put him under? The dentist is sending him to a root canal specialist. It will only be five minutes from his apartment. 
 

Is there any reason he can’t get transportation to and from the appointment and be alone afterward in his apartment? He doesn’t want me to drive up and go with him because he thinks it’s an inconvenience for me and he says he’ll be just fine. 
 

I’ve never had a wisdom tooth pulled or a root canal. I don’t know what to expect for him. 
 

Is there any reason he needs someone with him? I won’t try to convince him to let me drive him if it’s perfectly fine for him to handle this. But I absolutely don’t mind going up there. 
 

I don’t know how it got so bad so fast. He had a checkup/cleaning just six months ago. 
 

 

I have gotten a root canal (on my birthday, at a root canal specialist) and driven myself home afterward. It was local anesthetic only though.

OTOH when my husband got his impacted wisdom teeth removed they insisted he have someone to drive him home (and he needed it)

Edited September 15, 2022 by vonfirmath

[kbutton]

1 hour ago, Indigo Blue said:

They had a hard time at the dentist getting him numb. Three rounds of numbing shots and still couldn’t get him numb and do the root canal. So, he’s going to a specialist. That’s why I thought they might sedate him. 

They might do nitrous on top of numbing. My husband doesn't stay numb long and takes a ton of meds to get him there. He has done *okay* with root canals, but it's not his favorite activity. It's much better for him with an endodontist.

I wouldn't borrow trouble, and he will be in good hands with an endodontist. 

1 hour ago, Amethyst said:

The endodontist will get him numb. There is almost never any need to sedate a patient unless he is extremely anxious. He’ll be fine. And he will feel a lot better after he has been to the endodontist. No need to drive him to the appointment. 

Maybe. DH is never as numb as he should be or numb for as long as he should be. 

Besides being a natural (graying) redhead, the roots of his teeth go all the way up into his sinus cavities and sprawl out there. The endodontist found it rather remarkable. 

[catz]

I’ve had 2.  I drove myself both times.  It was fine.  I had 9ne with an endontist and one at the dentist and the endontist one was faster and smoother.   

[Catwoman]

I'll be the outlier and say I would go with him. 🙂 

[TechWife]

There's no need for a driver usually.

He shouldn't need a consult if he's in pain. Also, the dentist should prescribe some pain meds while he waits to get in with the endodontist, who probably has time blocked out for emergencies. My dentist usually prescribes antibiotics to get the infection under control.

ETA: He can bring his phone and earbuds and listen to a podcast or music while they work.

 

Edited September 15, 2022 by TechWife

[Katy]

I once needed two weeks of antibiotics before a root canal do they could get me numb, but I drove afterwards fine.

[Kanin]

12 hours ago, gardenmom5 said:

There have been a couple times my (generalized - related to adrenals) anxiety was acting up - and we put the lead apron on me.  it had all the comfort of a weighted vest/blanket and actually significantly calmed my anxiety.  and a blanket because I was cold.

That's a really good idea!

[Starr]

We've had a lot of dental work done in our family. The dentist will tell him before his appointment. He can call the office and see what they suggest.

[catz]

13 hours ago, Catwoman said:

I'll be the outlier and say I would go with him. 🙂 

I think if you can and he wants you to that is great.  But I haven't found root canals any more onerous than a typical filling other than taking slightly longer.  It was much less big a deal than I was expecting.  I did use advil on and off for 5-7 days after each one, it was helpful to stay on top of that for a few days.  I was taking advil before one of them, it was painful.  My husband had one too, he barely used anything for pain after his.  

The providers are typically super adamant if you need a driver.