How painful is a root canal and how long does it take to heal?

Not bad: Provided your dentist achieves good anesthesia, you should feel nothing during the procedure. It can be normal to have a little soreness for a day or two afterwards, but not bad.

RCT Pain: In the vast majority of cases there is no pain during root canal therapy as you will be given a local anesthetic to completely numb the area. Most of my patients experience little or no discomfort following rct although occasionally there is mild to moderate discomfort, especially to biting pressure, for a day or two at most and is easily handled with mild to moderate otc pain medication.