Do They Put You Asleep for a Root Canal?

This question comes up quite often. Many of us hear “jokes” on TV, radio, or on the Internet, about getting a root canal procedure done. As a result, there are many misunderstandings about what is involved in a root canal procedure. In this post, I  address some of these misunderstandings.
First, root canal procedures do not have to be painful. I know what you may hear and read. However, in my practice, this is not so. We manage our patients differently. We manage our valued patients in a way which better suits their needs. We do not manage our patients to better suit the needs of the business of running a dental office. This does indeed make us more unique.
Second, our patients are not ever “put to sleep” for these root canal procedures. Yes, they are numb for them. Yes, we do have the option for them to choose nitrous oxide gas (sleeping gas, laughing gas) which allows them to separate themselves more from the procedure, and which allows them to perceive less of the visit. Yet, with nitrous oxide, they are not necessarily sleeping. However, there are times within my office when patients actually fall asleep as we are performing the root canal procedure. Can you believe that?! Some patients do actually fall asleep, even without the nitrous oxide. I suspect some fall asleep because they are experiencing no pain, because they are comfortable and relaxed, and because they may be tired from life.
So to conclude, no; our patients do not need to be put asleep for root canal treatment. If you are interested in discussing this with us in person, we invite you to make an appointment at my office by calling (972) 250-2580.
We also invite you to peruse our website. You can find out more about us by following this link. You also may find out more about the solo dentist here, Dr. Mark Venincasa, by following this link. We thank you for your interest.