If you've had a root canal what is a normal amount of afterpain?

[Arduinna]

I got one yesterday. I've never had a successful one. I had one that ended up killing me then next day and I had to have the tooth pulled. It was fine last night after the numbness wore off and I ate dinner and breakfast this morning fine. But now it's starting to throb a little and hurt some. I have a high pain tolerance but I ended up taking a lortab just to be safe.

I'm not sure if I should call the dentist or not? The tooth behind the one I got root canaled hurts, it had a cavity filled yesterday too.

How much pain is normal?

[tireesix]

I found that after I had a root canal finally treated successfully, there was some ache but that slowly dissipated, it did not get worse. When the canal wasn't done right, the pain continued. Basically, if it doesn't feel right, then chances aree it isn't, when my canal hadn't been done right, I could just feel it, something didn't feel right at all.

I would book another appointment to be on the safe side, you can always cancel an appointment but its not always so easy to actually get an apointment when you really need it IYSWIM.

[texaspeach]

I don' tknow how much pain is normal. I've had one root canal, for a cracked tooth.

it was intense. I had to have it done in two sittings.

the tooth hurt after both times, for a few days. The nerve in the tooth was gone but there was swelling/bruising along my jaw line that hurt pretty bad, after that went away so did the pain.


hope your root canal works and you're out of pain soon..


and happy birthday

[Arduinna]

I have bruising along the gum line. I didn't have any pain or throbbing until I drank a cherry pomegranite Odwalla juice. So I'm not sure if the acid is what is causing the pain from the irritated gums.

[MaddieMay]

I would probably call your dentist-then he/she can tell you if you should come in. I agree that where your pain should probably be getting better at this point instead of worse.

My root canal was several years ago and I don't remember any abnormal pain. I remember that I went to the mall and shopped right after my root canal, though, so I must have felt fine!

[EFmom]

I'm sorry you're going through this. Dental pain is awful.

I've had three. All were successful. The first one was done many years ago by a general dentist. It hurt unbelievably for several days after.

The other two were done more recently by an endodontist. They hurt a little bit for a day or two, but weren't terribly bad. What you are describing doesn't seem out of the ordinary to me. But just to be sure, why not call the dentist?

[Romana]

I have had two very different experiences, but both were successful root canals.

The first, a healthy tooth had been banged several times and died. There was no cavity. I finally went to the endodontist (NOT a dentist, but a proper endodontist who specializes in root canals and other similar dental surgeries) because I was in so much pain I couldn't function, sleep, anything. I was at the point where I was ready to bash the tooth out with a rock (seriously). The root canal went well, but the horrible pain returned as soon as the numbing wore off. It took several days for the pain to go away. I was still in absolute agony 24 hours later. I was also pregnant and unable to take anything but a little Tylenol (ha ha ha). owwwwwwww.

The second, a molar had a deep cavity with a lot of decay and it had reached the root. I had no pain. In fact, I didn't really have any feeling in the tooth. I was so. scared. it was going to hurt like the other one. However, other than being a bit sore afterwards for a day or so, I never had any major pain with that one. I was also pregnant when that one was done.

What hurt way more than the root canal the second time was my gums. Oh boy did that hurt. They throbbed and throbbed, for at least 24-48 hours. When decay is in there like that and that major work is done in the area, it can reeeeallly hurt. It was hard to believe gums could hurt that much. It also got better though, in a couple of days or so.

HTH and I hope you're feeling better soon. I hate dental work.

[mrscompgeek]

I have had one root canal done and I had no afterpain whatsoever. I didnt have any tylenol or anything either.

[Arduinna]

Originally Posted by Romana9+2

I have had two very different experiences, but both were successful root canals.

The first, a healthy tooth had been banged several times and died. There was no cavity. I finally went to the endodontist (NOT a dentist, but a proper endodontist who specializes in root canals and other similar dental surgeries) because I was in so much pain I couldn't function, sleep, anything. I was at the point where I was ready to bash the tooth out with a rock (seriously). The root canal went well, but the horrible pain returned as soon as the numbing wore off. It took several days for the pain to go away. I was still in absolute agony 24 hours later. I was also pregnant and unable to take anything but a little Tylenol (ha ha ha). owwwwwwww.

The second, a molar had a deep cavity with a lot of decay and it had reached the root. I had no pain. In fact, I didn't really have any feeling in the tooth. I was so. scared. it was going to hurt like the other one. However, other than being a bit sore afterwards for a day or so, I never had any major pain with that one. I was also pregnant when that one was done.

What hurt way more than the root canal the second time was my gums. Oh boy did that hurt. They throbbed and throbbed, for at least 24-48 hours. When decay is in there like that and that major work is done in the area, it can reeeeallly hurt. It was hard to believe gums could hurt that much. It also got better though, in a couple of days or so.

HTH and I hope you're feeling better soon. I hate dental work.

My tooth was like your second one. I had a deep cavity, in fact I had part of the tooth that broke off last year but my fear kept me from going until now and the tooth never hurt. I'm really thinking this is a gum thing. I have tried calling the dentist office all day for another issue and they are closed and I just don't think that this warrants using the on call service at this point.

It's not hurting anymore since I took the pain meds, unlike my failed root canal I had before where no matter what I took I wanted to shoot myself. Thanks for posting that was really helpful to me.

[Purple*Lotus]

I would call the dentist. It should not hurt that bad. The first one I had, I had no idea what to expect, because it is always shown as really dramatic and painful on TV. So I let the pain go until it was so bad that I was up for 48 hours in agony (long story but my dentist went out of town and closed his office). I ended up going to a nice dentist who got me in for an emergency and he said it was infected and that I should not have waited that long. So call the dentist. There is no sense in being in pain :