No. I’m not going to tell you to meditate away your dental problems. (That said, meditation, particularly visualization coupled with breathing exercises, can be a great relaxant during a dental procedure.)
But there’s something very interesting about root canals and the internet. If you scour the web, it’s amazing how popular, that is, how many questions you will find from dental patients on this unpopular topic.
But here’s some really good news. The truth is: when it comes to root canals, the Dalai Lama is right.
“If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it's not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever.”
Dalai Lama XIV
The good news is a root canal, also called root canal therapy or endodontics, is a fix. For all the worry, anxiety and stress clear from the many questions, there are answers alongside great advances in modern dental procedures that can help people stop all that worrying.
I understand why there are so many questions. Dental patients have the right to be concerned and ask questions. After all, it’s rare to find a patient who can look into their own mouth, has the dental knowledge to read a radiograph (x-ray) and can understand the situation and know the medical diagnosis. Just as with a cardiologist or other heathcare specialist, when something goes wrong with your body, you have to rely on professional opinion. That lack of control - and it’s quite understandable- leaves many people skeptical. The question arises: Do I really need the root canal?
I get it. It turns out that if you look at some of the information on root canals out the web, there are two zen paradoxes out there that further feed in to people’s skepticism.
Paradox #1: I have no pain and yet I'm told I need a root canal.
First, some people experience absolutely no pain with a tooth and yet their dentist advises a root canal. Of course this perplexing. But as a dentist who has done over 4000 root canals, I will verify that this type of report is true. And there’s a good explanation for it.
Paradox #2: Some people report absolutely no pain with a root canal procedure. Other people say they experience pain.
Second and actually related. why is it there are people who complain bitterly about root canals and others who say it is totally painless procedure? Again, as a dentist, I can not only verify both these are true but that it’s completely explainable and understood.
Which Kind of Root Canal Patient Will You Be?
Ideally, you’d like to be the kind of dental patient that experiences no pain associated with a tooth needing a root canal. And ideally, you’d like to be the dental patient that experiences no pain with a root canal procedure.
There’s good news, folks. Properly informed, you can control your destiny on that. The key to this is getting to the answer of that most frequently asked question, “Do I really need a root canal?”
To help people through this, I’ve compiled a list of questions you might have that will help with your particular situation and symptoms. To paraphrase the Dalai Lama, “ Let’s find the fix”. Having found the fix, you can stop worrying, take action to become part of the many patients who have a pain-free root experience.
Monday, May 20, 2013 at 10:30PM 
