Root canal?

I'm going to have a root canal done next week. It was supposed to be yesterday, but yesterday the dentist just examined my tooth. So any advice? How does it feel to have a root canal? Will it hurt during the root canal? (I hope not, I want a lot of numbing medicine!, lol) Will it hurt afterwards, and if so, for how long?

Root canal?
I was pretty spooked when I needed a root canal (you know, all those jokes over the years, on TV and stuff). But I went to a person who did root canals (endodontist?); and it went smooth.





and I made a best friend in "gas" - they put this on you and you just breathe and you don't care what happens. You're not scared, time seems to go really fast (I thought it was 10-15 minutes and it had been over a n hour); and at the end - they give you a whiff of oxygen and all the effects go away.





and there's no "pain" after (maybe some soreness because your mouth was open for a long time), but since a root canal really means to remove the nerve, there's nothing left to cause you pain.





I had been sensitive, especially to cold and heat, and also to pressure. And the next day - cold Diet Pepsi again - without worries!





Root canals are much faster and easier and less painful than when they made those jokes. It felt no worse than getting a small filling or a tooth cleaning.
Reply:I have had 3 root canals done over the years and the MOST painless one was done by an Endodontist in Mexico... the most PAINFUL one was done by my regular dentist.
Reply:I just had a root canal done a couple of days ago on one of my front teeth. I was extremely nervous about it, but really it wasn't that bad. It doesn't hurt. The only thing that hurt a little was when they had to leave an instrument in my tooth for a couple of minutes to take an X-Ray to check the depth of the canal. It doesn't hurt really bad, more just annoying. The shot for the anesthetic also stings a little, but not that bad. But the whole process was fairly painless, especially if you have a really good dentist. I didn't even feel anything when he was drilling.





It's a little weird and uncomfortable, but not painful. I was a little sore afterward, but the dentist will give you pain medication. They gave me ibuprofen and that works fine. It's not a constant pain, just a little sore once in a while. The dentist said told me it might hurt a little for 2 or 3 days. I'm fine right now. I was able to go back to work and school the next day.





If you have a toothache or any kind of infection (which is usually why you have to get a root canal in the first place), you will have to take antibiotics for a while before they can work on it. That's probably why the dentist just examined the tooth first.





Don't worry, it really isn't that bad. I was scared too, but it was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be.