Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Travelling Down the Ol' Root Canal - Part One

So Saturday of this past week I got to experience a root canal.

I don't like dentists. Okay, let me rephrase that: as people I'm sure dentists are nice (although anyone who wants to stick their fingers in someone's mouth for a living maybe has a few deep rooted issues (ba dum ching)). What I mean to say is: I don't like going to the dentist.

But a month or so ago I found myself going to the dentist for a cleaning. Lo and behold, at said checkup, which I'll admit was a couple of years spaced from the previous, the dentist told me I have a walloping infection in one of my molar bears.

"Root Canal" he says, cavalierly. "Gonna have to get in thar partnar and cut that thar infection out." (He didn't really talk like that, but dentist speak is boring unless you give it some flavor). "I'll see ye in about a month, ye land lubber." (He really did say that.... okay, not really).

Okay, let's sum up. So I hate going to the dentist. I went. I saw. I had problem. I have to have a root canal.

Let's think this over, Mr. Dentist. You know its been a couple of years since my last checkup, now you're going to tell me that I have to have the dental operation feared far and wide across the land, and then give me a month to think about that? Nice. You might see me. You might.

But as they say, the only thing to fear is fear itself. Fear and Dentists. Fear and dentists and truck drivers. Fear and dentists and truck drivers and yellow balloons (I don't trust them). Fear and dentists and truck drivers and yellow balloons and tarantulas, and platypus, hoola hoops and a myriad of other things I do not understand.

For a month I feared. But my mantra in times of Terrible Trouble and Strife the Undesired is: "I can put up with anything for an hour." If the undesired event is a day, that's just 24 hours - 24 one hours I can put with.

Short story long. I went to the appointment.

I love how they have music in dentist chairs. It's hard to hear anything over the sound of that drill. And then watching him stick those little files in - that was fun.

The upside to this: apparently the infection was impacting my sinuses which should go back to something resembling normality soon. Oh the other upside is that this dentist put my bite back to the way it always was, which the last "dentist"(this past dentist was really just a hack with pointy things). The downside to that is my jaw is sitting differently, so ever since the appointment I've had a killer headache. But I think I'm finally starting to adjust.

Stay tuned: a couple of weeks from now I get to have part two of the procedure. That's right, more waiting. But what do we say people? That's right: we can put up with anything for an hour.

2 comments:

Evil Dingo said...

Bah, suck it up you wimp. I've had several root canals now -- I almost fell asleep at my last one. They're a piece of cake.

Just wait until the next phase where they have to grind down the tooth to make the crown fit -- that tends to rattle the brain around. And don't panic if you smell smoke.

But it is a cake walk. The most painful part is the bill for the crown.

Unknown said...

Yeah I had that smoke smell. That was pretty gross.

I look forward to more of that then. As for the bill, I hope insurance will take some of the sting off of it.