Oct. 31, 2019&mdash;
What scary thing would you choose to do if it could help you avoid a root canal? Spend an hour in a spider-filled room? Go swimming with sharks?

It turns out many people would rather do these and other uncomfortable things than open their mouth for a root canal, according to a survey by the American Association of Endodontists (AAE). According to the AAE, root canals today are a virtually painless procedure, but people would still go to great lengths to avoid them.

The survey found that women are more afraid of root canals than men&mdash;65% and 53%, respectively. Younger people&mdash;18 to 24 years old&mdash;have a deeper fear of the procedure than older people.

Rather than having a root canal, the survey found that:
<ul>
 <li>77% of people would rather go a day without a smartphone.</li>
 <li>69% would prefer to spend two hours in an elevator with a stranger.</li>
 <li>62% would rather run a marathon.</li>
 <li>57% would rather spend an hour in a room with 10 spiders.</li>
 <li>54% would choose to sing the national anthem at a sports game.</li>
 <li>53% would prefer a snake in their lap for 15 minutes.</li>
 <li>41% would rather go swimming with sharks.</li>
</ul>

A root canal is a procedure that removes inflamed or infected pulp from inside a diseased tooth. The inside of the tooth is then cleaned and disinfected. Afterward it is filled and sealed. According to the AAE, a root canal is very similar to a routine filling.

More from the survey

In keeping with the Halloween season, the AAE also quizzed people about the safest candy for their teeth. Only 19% correctly identified chocolate as one of the safest, while only about 23% of 18- to 24-year-olds were able to identify gummy candies as the worst. 

You can <a target="_blank" href="https://www.aae.org/specialty/2019/10/21/study-this-halloween-people-more-scared-of-root-canals-than-spiders-snakes-sharks/">read the full results of the survey </a> at the AAE website.

And you can learn about caring for your teeth in our <a href="[BASEDOMAIN]/healthinfo/ Topic.aspx?TopicID=d65cbb24-cb8c-4f8c-b9a2-55dfc512d5a6">Dental Care health topic center </a>.

Snakes, spiders or a root canal? Which would you choose?

People would prefer a snake in their lap over this dental procedure.