Kaybee’s Story – My First Root Canal

 My First Root Canal – Submitted by Kaybee

With all the autoimmune diseases we have going around the boards, a simple root canal would seem not very “story-worthy”. Still, Luci suggested I post my experience in case anyone else is going through this. I am 58 years old and had never had a root canal in my life. I had heard plenty of horror stories, though, as  you can imagine. After suffering for a week from an aching tooth, I finally convinced myself to go to the dentist. I was shocked when he said I had an absessed tooth and needed a root canal. Not only was I terrified of the procedure, but the cost was upsetting (nearly $2000!) and I was worried about how it would affect my Addison’s Disease — should I increase my Cortef? How would my body deal with such an invasion? The first thing I did was get on the internet and google “root canal”. The very first article that came up was most reassuring, calling a root canal one of the most “needlessly maligned” procedures in dentistry! In fact, the article claimed that getting a root canal was no worse than having a cavity filled. I took heart. The day of the procedure, I did not double up on my steroids. To make a long story short, once they numbed me up, I didn’t feel a thing. It took a long time — nearly two hours — but was not uncomfortable in the least, except for having to hold my mouth open that long! It was deemed successful, and I went straight from the dentist’s office to do my three-hour volunteer shift at the local genealogy library. Two days later, my tooth was still a little sore (and had a temporary crown), so I still have to go back and get the permanent crown, but all-in-all, it was a piece of cake. Have no fear! Modern dentistry is a wonder.