root canals

Root canals aren't that bad. As a dental procedure, I mean. I just had one, and quite frankly it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I had anticipated. In fact it wasn't bad at all.

I guess you need a root canal when a root (or the roots) of one of your teeth becomes infected because of decay. Or not. I don't really know, to be honest. I do know, however, that if you are going to have a root canal, you will need to get yourself to a endodontist. An endodontist is a dentist specializing in diseases of the dental pulp and nerve and will be an expert at completing root canals. If you are going to have small metal drills stuck 2.5 cms into your skull, I really suggest having an expert do this. Fortunately for me, my dentist partners with an endodontist, so I was able to go to the same clinic for all the work.

Here is the procedure in a nutshell, from the perspective of the recipient. This is in no way to be interpreted as a factual account of a dental procedure; this is just what I had happen to me:

1) You have a cavity. The dentist drills out the rot and discovers the dental pulp and / or nerve is a mess. You need a root canal.
2) You worry about having the root canal. If you are lucky, you have someone to drive you to your root canal appointment so as you don't collapse with fear behind the wheel and crash.
3) You get to your first root canal appointment. They take some x-rays to get an idea of just how deep you tooth is rooted in your skull, and an idea of the approximate shape and size of the tooth.
4) They give you local anaesthetic. This stuff is not your normal freezing the dentist gives you for a regular cavity. This stuff works instantly. My endodontist (and dentist for that matter) use a topical freezing to numb the entry point for the needle. They should be given major awards for this. Although I must say that the palate needle (the one that went into the roof of my mouth) was a bit painful at first... but nanoseconds later the freezing takes over and you feel nothing.
5) They drill out holes in your tooth above each root. If this is a molar, you get three holes, one for each root. I think if it is an incisor they drill a hole on the back of the tooth, but as I am not an expert, don't quote me on that one.
6) Using successively larger 'files', the endodontist reams out each root, removing all the diseased tissue. Actually, these 'files' get to a size that is rather alarming. Thirty millimeters doesn't seem like much until you hold a ruler up to your head and realize that they are drilling up to the region near your hypothallamus. No, the aren't up that far. Really. Anyways, my endodontist did alot of the reaming by hand with a set of very small (and very long) drill bits (or files). I am quite sure there is a technical term for these, but I don't have a clue what it would be. I just remember hearing the word 'file' alot. And 'endo-explorer' which is like a dental pick on steroids. During this part they flush the canal out quite a bit. I am pretty sure they used some pretty strong anti-bacterial agents, too.
7) Once the reaming is done, you get plugged. At least I think that's what they were... sort of like little, root-canal shaped plugs. Those get fitted and cut down to size. Then, you get a temporary filling to cover the whole thing up.
8) If your endodontist is on the ball, you get another x-ray at this point to make sure everything is lined-up and inserted where it should be.
9) Sometime after that, your regular dentist will rebuild the top of the tooth. I don't know what that entails (although I expect it means inserting a post and installing a crown or some such thing. Who knows, maybe it will be a convenience store.... either way, that's next week's appointment and it all happens under local anaesthetic.
10) You are done! The freezing comes out. You may or may not get antibiotics. I didn't. You will want some off-the-shelf pain medication. I used Advil Extra Strength. I didn't have any significant pain. On the other hand, I did use a significant amount of Advil. Oh hell it wasn't that bad.

The hardest part of the procedure, really, is being the the chair with your mouth open for two hours. I felt like I did that night the Blue Jays won their first world series, my jaw almost permantly locked in 'yelling mode'. My root canal took 1.5 hours for the first appointment, and just under 1 hour for the second. I had two appts. because my endodontist wasn't happy with the placement of the palate root plug after the first appt. No charge for the second appointment.

So far it has been less than $700.00. And I have had no pain at all after the second appointment.

Bottom line, I would recommend having a root canal if possible. I really like my dentist and it helped that the endodontist is his partner... I didn't feel like I was seeing a stranger even though I had never met the endodontist before. All in all it has not been a bad experience in the least.

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