I have the most amazing dentist. My root canal took 8 visits over the course of 2 months with no crown. The reason for 8 visits is because I didn't get any antibiotics for the infection, just the stuffing then a temp filling the first 7 trips, then the posts put in and a permanent filling. All of this was done without anesthetic, gas or funky contraptions stuck in my mouth to hold it open and each visit only took about half an hour except for the last one which was about an hour.
the nly time he ever hurt me was when he put the posts in, he stuck one in a bit too far. The least painful thing of the whole ordeal, a 250 Euro dental bill without having dental insurance.