I had a double root canal a few months ago, no anesthesia, and literally couldn't feel anything. The nerves on both teeth were already completely dead, there was simply no sensation at all.

I had one a couple of years ago. The worst part was the anesthetic injection but it was smooth sailing once it kicked in. No pain afterwards.

I had the root canal done without an anesthesia, because I did not want a needle sticking into my gum.

It was tolerable, I did not cry or anything like. The nerve was mostly dead anyway.

The dentist took his sweet time removing the nerve piece by piece with a probe, instead of just drilling the whole tooth through. It did not matter at the end anyway, because he filled the canal afterwards. And the molar has three roots, so he repeated that two more times.

I guess it depends on your pain tolerance.

I had one done recently due to breaking a filling while eating a Jolly Rancher. The whole thing took maybe 2 hours.

The shot of novocaine to numb my jaw was the only pain, and even that wasn't bad because the dentist used topical numbing before that. It was no different than getting a cavity filled.

My dentist has a cnc machine (CEREC) in the office to make the crown, so I didn't need a temporary cap. Waiting for that to be milled was the longest part.

I had a bruise on my gums for a couple days from the shot and the retainer clamp, but it wasn't even bad enough to stop me from eating.

Root canals used to be a lot worse than they are now, now it’s basically like getting a cavity filled. You just get a shot and don’t feel anything painful afterwards, although the drilling is loud and you can still feel pressure.

Depending on the office they may need to put in a temporary cap and wait for the actual cap to be made off site and mailed in to them, so you may have to wear the temporary for a week or so. It’s not uncommon for the temporary cap to fall out, don’t freak out if it does. You can put it back in or leave it out and just gently brush the hole normally (it won’t be painful).

If you have a strong fear of getting a shot in your mouth, you can ask the dentist to prescribe you anti-anxiety medication to take beforehand, but you’ll need someone to drive you to and from the appointment.

But honestly it should be a huge relief once it’s done, in terms of tooth pain. It will instantly be better once the numbing wears off.

Like everyone else, I agree that pain management can be pretty good these days. For me the experience was:

• dentist comes in, says hi, reviews what's going to happen, asks if you have any questions; tell them if you feel nervous, it's ok
• doctor puts a "local anesthesia" (something on a q-tip) to your gum, so the needle won't hurt too much
• then the doctor injects the "real" anesthesia in the gum. (an assistant may do this part - it varies) Depending on how deep they need to put it, you may feel a bit of pain, but not too bad. Pinch your arm moderately hard, and imagine that happening in your gum, and that's the most I've ever felt for a very deep injection for a removal. it lasts about 1 second. (some places might give you nitrous oxide for this part, but I've never had that.) They may give more than 1 injection, depending on the situation. From this point on you should feel no pain.
• doctor/assistant goes away for 10-15 minutes to let the anesthesia spread. your mouth starts to feel numb.
• the dentist comes back with an assistant, they get organized (figuring out what tools they need, etc) From this point on they're mostly just drilling or doing whatever they need, and your job is just to move your head however they want and keep your mouth open and spit when they tell you. it's a little boring, tbh, at one point I almost dozed off and made a bit of a snoring sound.
• it can be a little weird having saliva pool in your mouth. the assistant should be vacuuming it out regularly. if they're not doing this often enough, let them know. It is also very very helpful if you can breathe through your nose. if you have a problem with this just let them know.

Good luck, let us know how it goes!

I had a dental abscess that ultimately required a root canal to fix. Before I could go into surgery I was in the worst pain of my life. Some people exaggerate when they say they were in the worst pain of their life, so to be clear I'm rating the abscess as causing more pain than when I was hit by a car, fell off a cliff, or had life threatening appendicitis.

I had never had a root canal before, so I was pretty nervous going in. My dentist is pretty cool though, he talked me through the procedure and was very patient with me.

The surgery came in two parts. He did most of the work the first day, and had to do some finishing touches the next. Honestly, the hardest part was just sitting in the chair with my mouth open for an hour. I do remember a period where there was a lot of pressure - not pain, but pressure. That's when they're filling in your roots with... whatever it is dentists use.

Part of the procedure involves removing nerve tissue. That made me anxious to hear, because I imagined that was going to hurt, but I didn't feel a thing. Well, that's not exactly true, about halfway through the surgery I suddenly had immense relief and couldn't feel my abscess anymore.

Root canals kind of have a bad reputation because they're one of the more involved procedures at the dentist. I had heard horror stories and seen it lampooned on sitcoms, but the truth didn't live up to my fears. Dare I say it, it was almost a pleasant experience.

Good luck with your procedure, you've got this!

I have "tight jaws" problems so a trip to dentist generally is a pain for me, even without surgery. There are hygienists and surgeon dentistry. You only want to have regular business with the first. So brush brush mouth wash.

I learned the hard way that after root canal there is a chance you loose your tooth if you don't get it cared over fully promptly. (if a temp cap has any problems it's an emergency.) I think numbing the tooth is the worst part because for a root canal they have to (and you want this) kind of over do it. After this, no problem. Always tell beforehand if you have fears of the operation, so they can adjust how they work.

It really depends on the doctor handling it. If they're good, it's nothing to worry about.

I've had one and I am straight up terrified of needles in general. The only thing that hurt me was the initial needle. I won't lie, getting a shot in the roof of the mouth is not a good time, but literally everywhere else is on par, if not less than a regular needle. I don't know how to explain it, but it's less resistance, and a good dentist will numb along the way. Also, let your dentist know. You're not the only one who finds it scary. They'll do what they can to make it comfortable. And if it's long, they usually let you wear headphones. It's not a spa by any means, but once you get the injection (which I promise is not bad), that's it. Hard parts done. And you'll sleep great that night because it'll be all over. 👌🏾

I've had good dentists that have kept me mostly pain free. Hope you have the same. For me, it's mostly about tolerating the amount of stuff put into my mouth at once, which can be uncomfortable. But it's not too bad. You'll be fine I'm sure :)

Yep

Just get the gas! It's very affordable and very relaxing i did mine without the gas and it still wasn't too bad

The worst part in my experience was actually getting numbed. You can't see the needle going in so a lot of people with needle phobias won't have any problem, but for me the feeling of a needle is repulsive. After that it was smooth sailing, just a bit boring.

The pop culture reputation of dentists as literal torturers is pretty outdated. Medicine has improved a lot in a short amount of time. Just look up reviews before picking your dentist, and don't cheap out if you can help it.

I used to get cavities filled without numbing, until I was 22 and needed a root canal. They make you get numbed and I haven't gone back when getting work done. I don't think the tooth pain is bad, and if you feel tooth pain, let them know. It should be completely shut down. The most uncomfortable part is really having your mouth kept open if they do it right. The light in your eyes too, but you can close your eyes. Also the vibrations sometimes make my nose hairs tickle. All that should be worse than the pain.

As long as its done by a qualified professional with proper anesthesia, you should be fine.

Do consult a professional though, every situation is different, and we're generally not professionals around here.

I literally had one on Friday! Long story short: mine was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting.

I had a wisdom tooth removed a couple of years ago and that sucked but it was bearable - it hurt for about two weeks, but Tylenol made it manageable. So I was expecting something along the same lines here. The actual procedure itself was fine - the scraping out of the inside of the tooth is a weird sensation, but not painful 'cause they freeze you up. Then afterwards, once the freezing wore off it hurt for about three hours and I was expecting it to suck for a while. But I had a Tylenol and a nap, and when I woke up it wasn't hurting at all and it's been fine ever since.

Other people have told me that they had pain for a week or so, so your mileage may vary, but yeah for me it was literally just a few hours of discomfort and then back to normal. Nowhere near as big a deal as I thought it was going to be.

Had some. Not bad. The worst part is the numbing. It doesn't hurt, it just feels strange and tastes bitter. Some advice, don't take laxatives before the procedure. You'll be fine.

I had half of one. It fixed the pain, never went back to get the other half done.

I had one, from a tooth that got damaged with braces as a teenager. It finally got to the point in my 40s that it hurt all the time and couldn't be saved. My dentist suggested the root canal. Like you, I was scared.

I didn't need to be scared. It barely hurt after - in 48 hours it was like it never happened. During the procedure (maybe 75 minutes total?) they had really good pain blocks. My advise is to let them know your fear. Good dentists/endodontists expect it and have ways to help you.

If you've been in pain from this for a while, you have already been feeling the worst of it. It'll be so much better afterwards. Really!

They will likely fit you with a temporary crown to protect the remaining tooth until a proper crown is ready. Most of the pain will be from your irritated gums after the procedure, which will ache. Root canals terminate the damaged tooth nerves, so you may need to relearn how to chew on that tooth a bit. But did I mention it won't hurt?

Had one.

• it's okay to be apprehensive
• use a reputable clinic - Dr Nick will give you PTSD
• it's gonna cost a bit. Ensure you have insurance or a healthy bank situation. It's like us$2k here all-in but we can get it back from taxes.
• it's a long process and there is weird stuff going on. Listen to the practiced pros and warn them you're a noob. They'll understand and ideally warn you which ooky thing is happening next so at least it's not a surprise.
• sometimes the temporary cap pops out if you have one while waiting for the permanent one. As long as you can bring it in to the office, they'll glue it back in in 2 minutes. You want them to glue it back in.

After a period of time you will be totally unaware of it as anything other than a tooth. It's not expected to fall out, split, or receive coded messages.

Breathe.