Quote:
Originally Posted by ihatethedentists
I had a root canal because of sharp pain in a tooth and its been a few months and I now have a constant dull ache constantly on the left side and can't tell which tooth it is exactly. The dentist said I needed three new crowns and the oral surgeon said to have the one root canaled tooth pulled. Another dentist said he didn't know why I'm still in pain so it must not be showing up on the x rays. I have been on amoxicillin for a week now and still in pain so considering having it pulled. I was to have it pulled a day ago but could not get out of the car because of fear. The oral surgeon wants to do iv sedation and I am freaking out about this. Is it really a horrific experience to have a previously root canaled tooth pulled? Please only positive feedback because I'm already going through too much in my life right now thanks,
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IV sedation isn't a big deal at all. Fear of the dentist is a pretty common phobia, and many dental groups have systems in place to accommodate people who have this fear. IV sedation is part of the system, letting the patient watch a TV that hangs from the ceiling and is directed for their view is another, encouraging patients to bring a portable music player with earbuds is another, even deep breathing and lavender oil evaporating into the air via a diffuser is employed in some places.
Removing a tooth that has a post in it is definitely more time and energy-intensive than simply pulling a bad tooth, but oral surgeons do this kind of things all the time, that's part of being an oral surgeon. Some measure of anxiety is to be expected - I mean what sane person looks forward to getting a tooth pulled, right?
But you're in pain. And the good news, is they can make the pain stop. The bad news is you have to open wide and endure the lidocane shots, and soreness once the lidocane wears off, in the comfort of your own home. The soreness can last a few days, but it's not excruciating. It's not as bad as an abscess. If you've ever had one of those, you'll know what pain IS, in the mouth. Getting a root canal tooth removed is a walk in the park, compared to an abscess. Okay a walk in the park, on a gravel road, while wearing only your socks. Not a whole lot of fun. But nothing "horrific" either.
IV sedation makes the whole process easier. You're basically in la-la land during the procedure - you might be awake, or you might drift off to sleep. Or you might be somewhere inbetween, where you're conscious - but not really aware. You "come to" in the waiting room not really sure how you got there, and your mouth will be numb and filled with a big wad of gauze. And you'll probably be drooling.
Someone takes you home, you change the gauze (they give you extra), put a pack of frozen peas on your face, and take a nap for an hour. You wake up sore, but able to get up and function on a "light duty" schedule for the rest of the day. The next day you can go back to work, but you'd probably need some pain relief, whether just over the counter ibuprophen or narcotics, depending on your pain tolerance level.
Rinsing your mouth with warm salt-water can help relieve the pain -and- speed up the healing process, you just have to do it gently if you get a stitch, so that the stitch doesn't come loose too soon. You can eat and drink however you want, just make sure to do any chewing/crunching on the other side of your mouth for a couple of days.
That's it. It's really not a big deal at all, but the actual removal of the tooth with the post in it is a bit more work for the dentist and it might leave you a little more sore than if they removed a normal tooth with no post.
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