I have to have 4 root canals?

of course i am scared, i hsve no idea what to expect. we live on an army base in Germany and I have t obe sent out to a local dentist to have it done. I cant really understand him so I was wondering how many appts. i am looking at, and what to expect HONESTLY

I have to have 4 root canals?
Dentists can get you numb 95% of the time, even if you have a "hot" tooth, meaning extremely painful to cold and touch. They are many ways to anesthetise now our days.


For appointments, it depends on the tooth number (location) and the degree of difficulty (meaning the skills of your dentist!!) Many dentists prefer 2 appts, leaving a medication that will kill bacteria between appointment. Make sure you get a temporary filling. The old way of leaving teeth open to drain is no longer accepted. A specialist will take between 1-2 hours per tooth, unless your teeth are all next to each other. Maybe longer for some general dentists.
Reply:honestly, you should be scared, but it'll be over before you know it, and appts depend.
Reply:i have had a couple of root canals at different times, the first one was completly painless, the second hurt a little but not to bad, and it will be at least 2 appoinments
Reply:You will get lots of novocaine. Once you are completely numb, the dentist drills a hole in the center of the tooth and puts medicine in there to kill the root. Then he will put in a temporary filling until you can get a crown. You will need the crown! The tooth will be very weak from having the hole drilled/temp filling. I didn't get a crown on my first root canal and the tooth ended up splitting in 3 pieces and had to be removed completely. Now I have an implanted tooth....VERY expensive!





Take Tylenol or Motrin for pain. If you get all 4 done at once, he may give you something stronger.





Good luck!
Reply:Well I don't envy you. I lived in Germany for some time. Just make sure you can get a translator. But if you want to try and say this "Ich benötige einen Schuß von novicain in meiner Öffnung."
Reply:I am a big scardy cat too! I had 6 root canals one time. They were all on the same side of my mouth. It wasn't as bad as I thought. I figured it was all numb anyway...so I say go for it. It only took about 2 hours and I left with temporary crowns and had to go back about 10 days later to have the posts put in and 2 days after that I had the perm crowns put on. I had 3 done on the other side the same way. Once I got the shot to numb everything and the Dr. poked to make sure it was numbed enough I put my headphones on and listened to my favorite music rather than that drill sound.


Don't know anything about the military or dentists in Germany but if they will let you, just get it done and over with........
Reply:A single root canal takes two visits, minimum. The tooth is opened, a "file" is heated to red-hot and inserted in to the root canal of the decade tooth to remove necrotic canal tissue. A temporary filling is usually put in after the procedure and there is a brief waiting period. If the tooth is not completely "dead" you will have continued pain and the temporary filling will come out and the procedure repeated. If the first procedure was successful, a permanent filling will be put in or, usually, a cap (crown) will be put on the tooth. Good thing you are military. Four teeth would cost a bloody fortune without dental insurance.