Well I just got back from the root canal specialist... and I have to say that I don't know what all the fuss is about. At no point during any portion of the procedure was there any pain. The most uncomfortable part, aside from paying the bill, was that the headrest wasn't high enough for my head. It was no different in sensation from getting a cavity filling. It took longer, but that was mostly because I had four roots to clean. I was in there for 1.5 hours, and he said that if it had been a single-canal front tooth, it would have been 20 minutes.

I'm just amazed that it was as painless and easy as it was - and the doctor said that my tooth was more compicated than the garden-variety tooth in that location.

So right now I'm full of novacaine again and feeling rather drooly. We'll see if there is any pain when this wears off. But so far I give this root canal an A+.