Hi everyone.

I had my first root canal done on Friday. I'm 21 and have NEVER had a cavity. Impressive I would say.

My root canal was a bit more involved than normal though. The cavity was not that large on the surface but it spread through my entire tooth on the inside and was fairly close to the edge of my tooth (back left molar) on the side nearest my tongue so the tooth was starting to crack.

After drilling and drilling and drilling some more my dentist removed most of the walls of the tooth except for the part closest to my cheek. He cleaned the root canals and all that jazz. Built up my new tooth and put in the temp. filling. I was given FOUR injections to numb me up. I was frozen for almost six hours after. LOL.

Anyways. Everything went well but I am still quite sore. My jaw is very stiff. My gums and tooth are tender too but I think that is normal since my tooth had a lot clipped off so my gums were cut a bit. The tooth is really sensitive though. I am thinking it is because the work is not all completed yet. I have to go back in 2 weeks. Also, I keep poking at it with my tongue so that probably does not help. lol.

Just wondering what you all think. I have a feeling that a lot of this is all in my mind. What can I say, I'm a worrier and not very patient when it comes to the healing process. :rolleyes:

Nobody has any advice to offer?

Today is the start of the 3rd day since my root canal. My tooth is still very tender. I can't bite down on it and I feel little twinges of mild discomfort every now and then. Should I be concerned? I only have the temp. filling in place right now and had a lot of bonding work done as well with the root canal. I go back on the 24th of June to have the proper filling done etc.

Just wondering if the symptoms I have are normal or if I should be worried. I've never had a cavity of any sort done before so I dont really know what to expect. :confused:

I had a filling with bonding done about 2 months ago. I just called my dentist because the tooth is sore/tender. I have to go in and see what is going on the day after tomorrow. I am a bit in pain and bit annoyed. I spent a lot of money and I am in more discomfort now than I was before. My tooth too, cannot be bitten down on, which stinks. It hurts like a bruise.


It very well could be normal since you had all this work done. However, I would phone the dentist and have him take a look/x-ray. You owe it to yourself to feel good! Call today.

Good luck.

Tenderness and sensitivity after a root canal for a week or even two is normal. If more time than that goes by and you're still having problems, then you need to go back to the dentist or endodontist.

Thanks mike21a2. I remembered that my Grannie had a root canal done last year so I called her up to see how hers was. She told me the same thing. She was sore for 2 weeks because of the temp. filling. Once the permanent one was placed she felt a lot better. I am going back on the 24th to have that done so hopefully everything will be better then.

Hi Luxuria

Root canal is long and difficult process. I need to meet dentist 5 times before he decided to fill my tooth with permanent filling, even sometimes I still have slight pain until now and the worst was the antibiotics side effect on my tongue. My tongue become very sour after each cleaning process. Be patient and let the healing process works by itself.

Good luck

Just thought I would update you all on my situation. I called my dentist and he said that as long as my gums are not red and there is no extreme pain that my tooth is still healing and to give it a few more days. I am feeling a lot better today. Almost no pain at all and I can chew much better. Looks like I was just worried for nothing, like usual. :rolleyes:

Hi Luxuria

Pain after a root canal is very common. You'll find that out if you back search posts on root canals here. Personally if I was still having pain I wouldn't get the permanent crown put on until the pain resolves because if the permanent crown is placed and you continue to have pain you may need to have it removed to locate the source of the pain which means extra expense, etc. This was the advise by my regular dentist. I've had 3 done and 2 caused pain for about 6 weeks give or take but they eventually got better. The last one I had no trouble with. Once the pain went away in each case I had the permanent crowns put on.

Hope that helps....Robb

Hi Robb

Thanks for your post. My tooth is feeling great. The pain is gone and I can chew normally. I have my second appointment on Friday to get the permanent filling done so all should be fine. I am feeling 100% back to normal. :)

Just an update for everyone. I had the second part of my root canal done this afternoon. Aside from the aching I have now, everything went great. The dentist told me that the infection is 100% gone and he is very pleased with how well the procedure went. :) Nice new tooth and filling. That temporary filling was starting to drive me crazy. The canals were all cleaned and sealed and my tooth is better than it has ever been!
I go back in August for cleaning and such and then I will be fitted for a cap.