Crowns are a different beast. My jaw gets so sore from all the “open wider, just a little more” requests, and then you leave feeling like your bite is all wrong.
Totally get this. The crown fitting had my jaw aching for days—felt like I’d chewed through a bag of rocks. But the weirdest part was after my root canal, I kept expecting pain that never really came. Just this strange numbness and the urge to check if my tooth was still there. For me, root canal recovery was mentally trickier, but crowns win for physical discomfort in the chair. A neck pillow would’ve been a game changer...
Honestly, the “open wider” part is the stuff of nightmares for me. I always end up with my jaw popping and my wallet crying. Crowns are rough in the chair, no question, but between the two, the root canal aftermath messed with my head more. I kept thinking, “Did they even do anything? Shouldn’t this hurt?” It was like waiting for a storm that never came. Weirdly unsettling.
But the crown fitting—ugh. My jaw felt like it had run a marathon, and then I left biting down and thinking, “Is this how my mouth is supposed to feel now?” The first week after, I was paranoid about chewing anything harder than a banana. Also, why do those temporary crowns always feel like they’re seconds away from falling off? I spent days on soft foods just in case.
From the budget side, neither is exactly a bargain. I tried to put off the crown for a bit after the root canal (big mistake—my dentist was not impressed). Insurance barely covered half, and I still had to cough up for the “better” crown material. If I’d known how much sitting there with my mouth open was worth, I’d have charged them for jaw rental.
If I ever have to do it again, I’m bringing my own neck pillow and maybe some noise-cancelling headphones. And I’m definitely double-checking what insurance actually covers before I commit to anything. It’s wild how much dental work costs, especially when you’re just trying to fix pain and not get a gold tooth for the fun of it.
Man, the “open wider” thing always gets me too. Why do dentists act like everyone’s jaw is made of rubber bands? I swear the temp crowns are just there to test your anxiety levels... I spent a week chewing on one side and basically living off mashed potatoes. Has anyone here ever skipped the crown after a root canal for a while? My dentist gave me that “not mad, just disappointed” look when I tried to delay it. Also, does anyone else feel like insurance just makes up numbers when it comes to dental stuff?
