I have an achy tooth that has a crack through it also .my dentist today took x-ray and it indicated small infection at root.I get panics at dentist and with injections and am only allowed non adrenalin based local anaestethics. I have heard weird stories about root canals e.g. they can give you major trouble when flying ,that they don't work etc ,I have heart murmers and am worried about infection ,is root canal my best option ?its not a molar tooth.my dentist said if it was her she would have the root canal done .im freaking out about the whole thing and scared of making a clot of myself by having a full blown panic.

God chill lax,you'll give yourself a heart attack! I had 1 about a year ago and I fell asleep during it and I hate the dentist,if you've ever had your teeth cleaned and polished then its about half as painful as that, honestly though tell your dentist your nervous and if you can have music on and ear protectors cause it usually the noise that's scary

The first thing that jumps out at me is that you say you have a heart murmur. If this is the case, you should take a large dose of an antibiotic one hour prior to having ANY dental work done to protect your heart. Your dentist will prescribe this. Normally it's 4 X 500mg of amoxicillin if you aren't allergic to it.

A root canal is a normal dental procedure. You always ever hear all the horror stories from people. Other than Irishgirl I bet you haven't had anyone tell you it was a breeze.

If the tooth is cracked, it may not even be repairable. If the crack is below the gum or if it's a vertical crack rather than a horizontal crack there may be no other option than removing the tooth.

The best treatment is always to save the tooth when possible.

Your dentist may be able to prescribe a sedative for you so you can relax a little easier during the treatment.

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Originally Posted by flossie

A root canal is a normal dental procedure. You always ever hear all the horror stories from people. Other than Irishgirl I bet you haven't had anyone tell you it was a breeze.

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I've had four throughout my lifetime. Each one was a breeze! (painless too)