Had an “emergency” root canal done Sat morning on my olny filling – after a bad tooth ache. I had a temp filling in waiting for yhe root canal to be done but it kept getting put off – a cold etc. 90 mins of someone drilling and filing was bad but it feels worse now than before it was done. I cant talk to a dentist ’til the morning.

Cocodamol and brupen are taking the edge off – but the lower jaw and tongue is basically getting shooting pains and I’ve not slept for 2 nights now.

Sounds like an infection in it has flared up and you need a course of antibiotics to sort it out. Antibiotics will take 24H then no pain.

Yeah, it can take a while to wear off. I remember a couple of days of pretty bad pain after the first round of drilling and gouging, combined with a week or so of pain beforehand which I am told was the nerve dying. (This all at the same time as moving house, that was a memorably dreadful week all told.)

Do check with the dentist tomorrow though, and keep taking the painkillers – it will pass. Eventually.

It’s normal for some pain the day after treatment but that should be manageable with normal painkillers – what you’d take for a headache. Anything that is worse than that or lasts longer than a few days or doesn’t seem to be getting better then back for advice.

FYI generally 500mg paracetamol 6 hourly with 400mg ibuprofen every 8 hours (interspersed) is the best combo assuming you can take those meds. Painkillers with codeine (eg cocodamol) usually make it worse actually.

You may need antibiotics.

Thanks guys. Thats reassuring. I’ve got antibiotics.

Ok – that was reassuring. WAS!

But at 01:30 I’m bouncing off the ceiling in pain! Relative to broken bones I’ve moved to 11!

EDIT – I know I’m being a wimp here. Its just better than shouting at the ceiling!

The treatment is quite painful, particularly the first sitting when the doc. tries to reach the roots of your bad teeth! I still remember, closing my upper and lower jaws was really difficult after getting the RCT done. It stays for one or two days but after that it won’t trouble you much. To get relief from the pain you’ve already got a list of painkillers recommended here 😉

Sorry, it’s no help whatsoever, but my root canal stuff was a little uncomfortable during, and no bother at all afterwards. (No need for painkillers).
The incredible pain that sent me to the Dentist in the first place though….

When I’ve had root canals they’ve not hurt at all. Call the dentist.

Nerve pain has to be the worst pain ever.

Crap I’m booked in for root canal treatment on Friday 🙁

I’ve had a couple of them done and never felt a thing. Sounds like you have an infection.
The most painful thing about root canals is the price! 😯

Edit – Well worth it though, the pain I had before was truly awful .

Sorry to hear about that. I’m at work now so can give more detailed advice 😉

The treatment provokes a slight inflammatory response. Anything inflamed tends to swell up but the area around the end of a root is all enclosed in bone so there is nowhere for any swelling to expand into – hence the pain. Normally this slight inflammation is controlled by normal painkillers.

Sometimes, usually where there is a chronic infection present (where the bugs and your body’s defence is in equilibrium) it can be stirred up to become acute, sometimes called a phoenix abscess. Likewise an acute infection causes swelling and hence pain but it tends to be a bit more severe and often needs antibiotics. It doesn’t mean the treatment will not be succesful. Generally, 24-48 hours of antibiotics will make a significant impact on the pain and any swelling.

HTH