What is really so scary about cosmeticdentistryguide.co.uk/articles/root-canal.html?  It is a standing joke in the media which has transferred itself to the public perception of that procedure so much so that we are terrified of it.

Dublin dentists carry out dozens if not hundreds of these treatments every day.  Do you see people walking round the streets clutching their jaws in agony?  Have you known someone who has had it and who describes it as the most horrific experience of their life?  I doubt it, in fact if you do know anyone who has had the procedure, or if you’ve had it yourself, you’re probably familiar with this sentiment ‘Actually, it’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be’.

Modern medicine has moved far on from the days when barbers and surgeons were the same thing and dental treatment meant sticking a massive pair of pliers in there and pulling out anything that seems to be rotting.  With current dental techniques and equipment, as well as targeted local anaesthetics, it is rather unfair that this image of dentistry persists, as if dentists somehow wished to inflict harm on people.

The idea that this procedure is so gruesome and that dentistry in general is something to be feared is one of the things which makes some dentists just want to give up, put their dental practice sales and move into fishmongery.