That was not my experience and I’ve had more than one. Call your dentist and let him/ her know what’s going on.

I did not have that problem. The reason for doing a root canal is to remove that nerve. You need to contact that dentist immediately.

Agree. The two I have had were less painful than some fillings I have had in the past. Call the oral surgeon now.

It doesn't sound normal to me--not at all--and I've had several. Best of luck with this, Socks.

Completely agree with everybody else - call the doc. I've had 2 and no suffering at all.

Not the replies I expecte. Will contact doctor. Thanks.

Since a root canal removes the nerve you shouldn't be in pain. I've had a couple and no pain afterwards. Let us know how this ends up, I'm curious why you are suffering like this.

Your dentist should have an emergency number, (Sunday,) given when you call his/her regular number on the message.

I have had a few root canals, and I have never had any pain. Daughter had your experience, and it was because she went out with friends and ate a hamburger shortly after arriving home from the oral surgeon. A bit of hamburger had gotten into the hole left by the surgery, and as time went by, it became increasingly painful. I had to take her back to the oral surgeon, and he cleaned out the bit of meat and gave her more antibiotic. Pain went away.

Please call your dentist ASAP, there's no reason to have pain.

Root canals can be tricky, especially if not done by a specialist but sometimes still there can be difficulties. Was it done by an endodontist or a general dentist?

I hope you feel better soon.

I've had two root canals. One was an abscessed tooth so pain relief was immediate and lasting. I had a second one a few months ago and within a few hours after the procedure, it was incredibly painful, the same as the height of the infection. I've had kidney stones and this pain is worse. That didn't happen with my first one so I went back in.

The dentist said it's normal to feel pain afterwards if the infection is in the jaw, like mine was, because there are still nerves there and they have been irritated by the procedure on top of the infection, and that it takes a little while for the infection to clear up. It went away within a day or so though so I would definitely call.

I've had more root canals than I'd care to admit, and I always have pain afterwards. BUT, the pain is not from the tooth. The pain is emanating from the gum -- from the sites where the novocaine was injected. For some reason, my gums are very sensitive to injections.

Socks....call your dentist please....it could be pressure building up in your tooth....extremely painful.....I’ve actually had to “open” up a tiny hole in the temporary filling in my husband’s root canal to let the pressure out....there is nothing like pain from a toothache...

Same thing happened to me, I went back in and they had missed a canal. Not all teeth are text book, some may have more or less canals. Often times there are little branches off the canal that can be missed as well. Another possibility is disturbing the tooth next it that is on the brink of needing a root canal, it will cause a flare up.

I had my first last February. Absolutely no pain afterwards, or even during.

Not normal. I had that happen once, needed antibiotics. Root canals today generally do not hurt.

Well socks, don't leave us hanging.... did you call the dentist? are you still in pain? all better?

I'm sorry, didn't mean to leave you hanging. The pain did not get better over the weekend. Just now got an appointment with an endodontist for this afternoon. General dentist did the root canal. He left on vacation. I have no experience with this procedure, but in hindsight, should have gone with the endo in the first place. I'm grateful to be seen today.

Good luck. I'm sure you'll be feeling much better after you've seen the endo, he/she will know what is causing your pain and take care of it.

Glad you got in today. Give us an update when you get back.

Yes, let us know.

Socks, it won’t be of any help to you but I’ve had three fractures in the last few years due to osteoporosis and every time the surgeons have said not to use Advil as it is hard on your organs, take Tylenol or generic acetaminophen (sorry, my mistake, not ibuprofen) as it is indeed the ibuprofen that is the one that is bad for your liver and such.

I had a root canal and a lot of pain and swelling. Turns out the antibiotic that works the majority of the time didn’t work in my infection.

As soon as we switched meds, I started feeling better. It was the infection causing the pain.

HU--thank you for that comment. I am taking generic ibuprofen (Walgreens). I wonder how the generics could be ok but "Advil" not OK. Do you know?

The few times I've taken Tylenol over the years, I didn't find it very effective against pain, so that's why I started with the ibuprofen.

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EDITED to add: Saw the endodontist. He x-rayed and looked at the tooth and said it looks OK, the pain is what could be expected but that I was under-medicating. He gave me a prescription for 800 mg ibuprofen and Tylenol with codeine for nighttime sleeping. I'm relieved, mentally. The meds will help no doubt.

Next time, go to an endo for a root canal. Most general dentists won't even do these.

Ditto what Anglo said. Word for word.

General dentists are licensed to do whatever dental procedures they want but it's a question of competence and experience. They are sometimes reluctant to refer out specific procedures that really ought to be done by a specialist because they don't want to give away the revenue. Endodontists have more training, more specific root canal equipment, and far more experience.

I think it's unconscionable that a dentist would do a procedure like that on you, not follow up on how you were feeling, and then leave town without another dentist set to take his calls. I wouldn't go back.

I think it's unconscionable that a dentist would do a procedure like that on you, not follow up on how you were feeling, and then leave town without another dentist set to take his calls. I wouldn't go back.

Elmer brings up a good point: did your dentist call you the evening of the procedure to check on you? My dentist always calls after anything more invasive than a routine cleaning. He even called to check on me after I had the Zoom in-office whitening!

My ex was a dentist and did root canals all the time, including some on me. He was very good at it. You don’t necessarily need an endodontist, but it’s not a bad idea if you don’t have confidence in your dentist

My dentist did both of my root canals, and I'm happy with them. I didn't have much choice - I was in unbearable pain both times and had to get the quickest relief. If I had a planned or non-urgent one, I might try an endodontist.

Took two trips to endo for my very back tooth which had two roots! But regular dentist finished with the cap or whatever it is that goes on top. But no pain!

I too have had numerous root canals (and I think I need some more massive work) and honestly never had pain. I remember even having it in the morning and going to work after. (my speech was not wonderful but I had no pain). Mostly it was with endodontists but one or two was my dentist (when it was a less complicated one. otherwise he sent me to specialist). I think I took one dose of the painkiller the first night just to make sure I had no discomfort but that was all.

I really hope you feel better soon!

There was a dentist to cover for my own dentist in his absence. I talked to him. He and someone in my dentist‘s office connected me with the endo. I wasn’t abandoned. But my dentist should have covered the pain issue with me, even though apparently it isn’t always a problem.

Thanks everyone one for the support. I’m ok now.