Don’t worry. I’ve had a lot of work done on my front teeth due to an accident when I was a child. Eventually needed root canals on both.

Honestly those root canals weren’t even as bad as cavity fillings.

Most painful part, as others have said, will be the numbing injections. If you still feel pain, let them know and they’ll give you more (different people have different levels).

Make sure to ask for a bite block so you don’t have to hold your mouth open, that’ll help a lot.

They might even let you listen to music, audiobook, or podcast, depending on your dentist.

Here’s what you’ll experience:

They’ll put you in the chair, and they’ll use a q-tip to apply some local anesthetic to your gums. They’ll give that a bit to kick in, then they’ll inject your gums with a tiny little hypodermic needle to really numb them. This is the only part that hurts. I find if I grip the arm of my chair and focus on that, I get through it easier.

They’ll likely do 2-3 injections around the area, depending on the tooth and where the nerves are located. But the first is the worst, because the numbing agent will start to take effect for the others. Also your body is gonna flood with endorphins because of the pain, so the injections following the first won’t be nearly as bad. Then the dentist will probably leave the room for a few minutes while they let that kick in. If the assistant is there, strike up a conversation! In my experience, the relief that the injections are done, along with the aforementioned flood of endorphins, almost feels like a mild high.

The dentist will come back and ask how you’re doing. Your lip will feel huge right now (though it isn’t, it’s just the way the nerves interpret not being able to feel what’s going on).

Here, if they haven’t given you one yet, ask for a bite block. Seriously, it makes the process so much easier.

They’ll start working by drying the area with some air. Then they’ll probably begin drilling. If you feel any pain at all, let them know. They’ll be looking for it, and may even ask you. I’ve only ever had to get an additional injection once or twice. By this point, the injection won’t really hurt because the area is so numb.

When they’ve drilled in they’ll begin using tools to clean out the inside of the tooth, clearing as much of the infected tissue as possible and removing the nerve. The work and the drilling all feel kind of weird, because the area is numb but you can still sense pressure in other parts of your mouth. You can also hear it, unless you choose the music route. I actually find this kind of fascinating.

Once they’ve cleaned the area, they’ll put in what’s called gutta percha, which they use to plug up the canal. This will feel funny, you’ll definitely feel the pressure. It won’t hurt though.

Then they’ll plug the hole with some bonding material or cement or something. This will probably be UV cured.

And then you’ll be done! Unless you’re having the whole tooth replaced with a crown. In that case, they’ll have made a mold beforehand for a temporary and permanent crown. They’ll drill away more of the tooth and put a post in to hold the crown in place. Then they’ll put the temporary crown on while they send the mold out to make a proper one.

Then you get to go home. Take a sick day if you get them, not because you need it but because it’s a good excuse and your co-workers will all feel sorry for you. 🤣

Don’t fret! You’re gonna do great. If you have any questions or concerns don’t hesitate to ask!

I’m late to the thread, but just wanted to reiterate what others have said. The “pinch” of the anesthetic injection was probably the worst pain. The process was relatively quick, especially if they’re only doing one tooth. Heck, the real pain was covering the costs that my insurance didn’t cover. :)

My guy did have me use a bite block to hold my mouth open. Very handy, definitely made it easier. When the process was all said and done, my jaw was a bit sore from being in that position for that long. But that past very quickly.

Be sure to communicate with your dentist and be honest. Before, after, and during the procedure. You’re the patient here, and they need to listen to you especially as it pertains to what you’re feeling. If you’re still feeling anxious (and who could blame you), you might ask to have one of those heavy xray blankets. It acts like a “weighted blanket” and can really help with some of those nerves.

I’ve had one. The only pain I felt was the needle prick for the anaesthetic and then later sore jaws from having to hold them open for an hour.

I’ve had several, due to childhood trauma making me not take care of my teeth.

It’s a lot better these days. They numb, and if I say it still hurts, they get more novacaine into the tooth. They also listen when I say I need more than typical because of genetics.

Also my primary doctor gives me xanax. It helps.

For me it’s three visits for each root canal. First is the drilling, second is the temp plastic cap, third is the permanent cap. Third is very quick cause is just putting it in basically.

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. 👌🏾

Due to poor life choices, I’ve had six.

I had a really good dentist and none of them were a big deal in terms of pain or discomfort. Just boring sitting there for long periods waiting for it to be done. I closed my eyes and meditated into a half doze. Good luck!

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 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.

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 :)

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

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.

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 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.