How bad does a root canal hurt?

Helloroot canals should not hurt when having them done. I have had 2 done and the only thing that was slightly painful was the injections. My first root canal was on a small tooth and it was pretty easy and fast( less root canals to file out). I had 1 injection and then everything was nice and numb. The dentist then drilled the tooth for a couple of minutes and then used files to clean out the root canals. After that he removed all signs of infection and put some stuff in the tooth to kill any remaining bacteria off. The tooth was then filled with a temp filling. 2 weeks later I went back and had an x ray to check everything was ok and the infection had gone. I then had the tooth prepared for a crown and a post put in as there was not enough tooth left to support a crown by itself. None of this hurt and if I remember correct I had to go back to have the crown fitted which was fast and simple about 2 weeks after that. I did not have any after pain or soreness with this tooth as the root canal was not that badly infected or inflamed. My second root canal was abit harder to do as it had a bad infection and I had ignored it for a while and it had got pretty painful before they even started work. You have more chance of pain if your tooth is very sore before they start, badly infected already and hot and inflamed. They can give you antibiotics though to help calm things before work begins, but I did not do this. Anyway my 2nd tooth was a large back tooth and it was hot and sore and very painful . So when I had 1 injection and he started work the tooth still hurt, so I put my hand up and he stopped. He then injected the actual tooth through the hole ( the hole was where the tooth broke from decay as I had ignored it too long) and this only stung for like 2 seconds and then everything was numb. This tooth took longer as it had 4 root canals to file out and clean. But it did not hurt after the 2nd injection at all. After he had finished doing the root canal he put a temp filling in it . It took about 1 hour. This tooth was abit sore for a few days after and I took some Nurofen+( anti inflammatories) which helped. The only reason the tooth was sore was because I had left it so long, the tooth was inflamed and hot . So my fault. So the more painful your tooth is before they start the root canal, the more chance it maybe sore for a few days after. But it is a bearable sore and it will soon settle down. If your tooth is not giving you much pain now, it probably will not after. Most root canals are no worse than having fillings, they just take more time to do. Make sure you have a crown fitted after a root canal on a back tooth as root canals make teeth brittle over time and the crown will protect the tooth from breaking. So do not worry a root canal is not normally painful. I had a small amount of pain with the 2nd one, but it was totally manageable and painkillers sorted it. I also remember just eating on the other side for a few days after and then just eating soft foods until my crown was ready. Things like ice cream and yogurt were soothing and nice and easy to eat. On a scale of 1 to 10, ( 10 being really painful) the pain on my first root canal was 2 and my 2nd tooth( worst infected one) 4 out of 10. Hope that helps and you will be fine.... Show More

Modern dental surgery doesn't really hurt. It is uncomfortable, but rarely will you suffer any significant amount of pain if you follow all instructions given to you by the dentist. You should probably take a couple of pain killers as soon as you're able to drink liquids after the surgery, because once the numbing effect wears off, you may experience pain for a short while (I recently had an extraction and this is precisely what happened to me--trust me, don't take the chance, just take the pills). Root canals do not intrude into the tissues of the mouth the way extractions do, so you're not likely to experience much, if any, discomfort. At worst you will have minor pain localized in that one tooth, but you will find yourself quite capable of moving on with your life almost as if nothing happened. Just be sure to get a proper crown done within a few weeks. If you don't, your tooth may literally crumble inside your mouth.... Show More

Unless the procedure has complications, it should be pretty much pain-free. During the procedure you will be under local anesthetic (usually Lidocaine), so you won't feel anything. The root canal involves removing the damaged nerve of the tooth, so logically, when it's all said and done, you should feel nothing afterwards. Your jaw might feel a little wonky after being open for so long, but that'll subside quicklyKeep smiling 🙂Dr. Mac... Show More

This Site Might Help You.RE:How bad does a root canal hurt?I need to get a root canal done to my bottem back moler and am freaking out I need to know how bad dose it hurt and for how many days will it hurt for and don't lie to make me feel better thanks for answers... Show More

There is as much discomfort with a root canal as there is with a regular filling. The procedure just takes a little longer.... Show More

Nope, l just had one done yesterday and no pain , just careful after done and do not use your root canal to chewing any hard food for unless 24 hrs .... Show More