No. With the aid of modern technological breakthroughs in anesthetics and delivery techniques of those anesthetics, we are able to keep the procedure entirely painless. As a matter of fact, the most uncomfortable thing about the procedure is the injection needed to get numb. About half of the patients I treat have some sort of a fear of needles. I use the smallest diameter needle available, and as a result, many patients feel that there is little or no discomfort during the injection. I also inject at the slowest possible rate of flow to allow the tissue to “get out of the way” of the anesthetic. This way there is no undue “inflation” of the soft tissue, which can be very uncomfortable to say the least. Once we establish that the patient is profoundly numb, we begin. If not, we have other alternative injection techniques we employ to achieve adequate levels of anesthesia. If this too, is unsuccessful; then we release the patient and reappoint them for another visit. About two or three patients a year that I see are in this category. They may be stressed over a traffic situation during their trip to the office, or a work-related problem, or even just meeting a new doctor for the first time can be overwhelming for some people. This anxiety can play a very strong role in their inability to get profoundly numb. I would rather sacrifice the time and reappoint them to keep them comfortable. I am sympathetic to their needs, and know that on their subsequent visit they will be less anxious, and be able to get profoundly numb. Once you are numb, you won't feel a thing that I am doing!

• Why do I need endodontic therapy (root canal therapy)?
• What is a root canal anyway?
• Would you be more specific?
• How long does it take?
• How come my regular dentist won’t do my root canal?
• Am I finished after the root canal? Do I need to have anything else done to my tooth?
• I had several crowns done in the past, how come I never had a root canal with those teeth?
• How long should I wait before having the buildup and crown done?
• Is it possible to not know that you need endodontic therapy?
• What is the difference between a regular dentist, and a specialist?
• Is it better to see a specialist, or let my general dentist treat me?
• What are some of the complications that could arise during treatment?
• Root canals don’t work on me! I’ve had several; and every time I end up getting the tooth pulled!
• My dentist said I needed to have a tooth I already had a root canal done on, treated again. Why?
• I had endodontic therapy done 10 years ago. Last week I had another tooth treated, and the procedure seemed very different. Which one is better?