Sometimes I wonder if we stress ourselves out more than necessary by expecting the worst.
I get what you mean, but honestly, I’d rather overthink a bit than ignore something and end up with a surprise abscess. After my first root canal, I tried the “wait it out” approach… turns out, that twinge was not just healing. Ended up back in the chair, sunglasses on, pretending I was at a spa (spoiler: it didn’t help). Guess I’m team cautious, even if it means some extra stress.
I totally get wanting to be cautious. It’s not just the pain for me—it’s the cost that freaks me out. The first time I had a root canal, I tried to convince myself the weird ache was “normal healing” because I didn’t want to pay for another visit. Ended up needing a retreatment anyway, so now I question every little twinge. Does anyone else just constantly worry about the bill more than the actual tooth? Sometimes I wonder if being anxious actually saves me money in the long run… or just makes me more stressed.
I totally get what you mean about stressing more over the bill than the tooth itself. I haven’t even had a root canal yet and I’m already dreading the cost part more than the actual procedure. Honestly, I keep thinking maybe if I just wait, it’ll go away... but then I freak myself out reading stories like yours where waiting just makes it worse. Does the anxiety ever actually help, or does it just make everything feel scarier? It’s so hard to know when to trust your gut and when you’re just being paranoid.
- Totally relate on the money stress—sometimes feels worse than the tooth pain itself.
- Waiting never helped me. Once I put off a filling and it turned into a root canal, so... yeah, not my best move.
- Anxiety just made me spiral. Didn’t fix anything, just made me more scared to call the dentist.
- Gut feeling is tricky. Sometimes it’s just nerves, but if something hurts or feels off, I try not to ignore it.
- Dental bills suck, but letting it get worse usually costs even more. Learned that the hard way.
Money stress is real, especially when it’s your kid’s teeth and you’re just trying to do the right thing. My daughter needed a root canal redo last year—her first one didn’t “take,” I guess? Dentist said sometimes bacteria gets trapped or a canal’s missed. We waited a bit because she seemed okay, but then pain came back worse. In hindsight, wish we’d gone in sooner. The bill stung, but seeing her in pain was way worse. I get the anxiety—every step feels like a gamble.
