Serious dental work

[Karen256]

 

I am a law student and I am told by my dentist to have a serious dental work done. Can someone please tell me what to expect when having dental work done? I am having an emergency root canal treatment ( http://www.emergency-dental-365.com/procedures/emergency-root-canal/ ) from a nearby clinic in Toronto. My doubt is does going to a dentist fall under sick leave or annual leave? Will there be a need to provide a certificate or letter from the treating dentist? Has anyone been through this? Please share.

[thelionking]

I've only had a wisdom tooth removed and gum grafting done, but I'm familiar with dental surgery as I've had 4 procedures done in total.

I would suggest asking the dental clinic how long it takes to recover from a root canal and well as whether or not people typically take time off from work/school and, if so, for how long. I can't imagine you needing more than a day or maybe two off at most.

You will need to take pain killers which could make you feel tired or drowsy. As well, you will likely have a modified diet of cold, soft, non-spicy foods for a certain period of time. Apart from that, I don't see why you'd need to take time off from school if you are able to tolerate pain and discomfort and can work past a little bit of drowsiness. If you are doing a practicum that requires a lot of talking, then I'd also ask the dentist about that too and see if your supervisor would allow you to temporarily work on projects that minimize your need to talk.  

I'd speak to your profs to find out if you need to get a doctor's note. I think you should get one just in case, to be on the safe side, and also if you need a bit of a break on doing activities requiring a lot of talking (ex: presentations and such). Or you could always go back to the clinic afterwards to get one if you find out later on that you need one.

I won't lie. It'll hurt a lot. But every day the pain will decrease a little more than the day before until it's gone completely. The first 2-3 days will be the worst, then you'll start to notice the pain subside. Good luck!

Edited March 27, 2017 by thelionking

[ellieotter]

I have had a root canal done and I was good to go as soon as the procedure was over. Personally, my tooth and surrounding areas were super sore for about two weeks but they gave me a steroid pack and told me to take Advil whenever it started hurting. Oh, and you always won't be able to eat on whatever side of the mouth the do work on for a few days. They may require you to have someone drive and pick you up but they may just have been my case because I have to take Valium (thanks dental anxiety). Other than that, it's basically like getting a more in depth filling. Nothing crazy like wisdom teeth. Hope that helps