Root canals – a necessary evil to help relieve pain

Ouch, ouch, ouch and ouch.

I broke a molar before Christmas and it was decided that I needed a root canal. Because I value my money and my comfort, I got a second opinion. Unfortunately for me, the dentist and the endodontist said the same thing.

I had heard such horror stories. Oh boy, had I heard horror stories. Luckily for me, I was sent to a great endodontist here in Montreal and he was wonderful. I won’t lie and say it wasn’t uncomfortable, but he did his best to limit the pain as much as possible.

One of my problems is I had been to yet another dentist a few weeks earlier who had really hurt me while freezing me. I don’t know what he did, but my jaw and face hurt for weeks after, especially just at the joint below my left ear. So, when I went to see Dr. B, needless to say, I was scared to get frozen again in the same spot. I have to admit, although the first injection that froze the area locally hurt, it didn’t hurt half as much as at the dentist I’d seen earlier and Dr. B was so gentle, his manner so calming, that I was able to handle it.

The first part of the root canal was completed before Christmas and about 5 or 6 days ago, my jaw began to hurt again, as it did before the procedure. My follow up appointment was booked for yesterday, Friday, so I just lasted it out. Luckily, Dr. B didn’t see anything that indicated an infection, but he did a wonderful job cleaning it out and then packing the filling into the tooth and really make sure all was ok.

So, here I sit, with a sore mouth but that’s from the manipulation and the work done inside. There’s nothing I can do about that.