Tooth Hell
Back in July, I had a horrible tooth ache that was really bugging me. It bugged me enough that I knew I had to go see my dentist about it. I was able to get an appointment a week later, and went in to find out what was wrong.
Tooth decay. Eek! I brush my teeth, don't get me wrong, but it was on the very back molar, and sometimes you just don't get back that far often enough. The dentist numbed me up and started started cleaning my tooth. Not fun. He told me I had to get a root canal, and he would send me to his son.
I got an appointment for Friday, September 5th, 2008. I knew I wouldn't have classes then, and it seemed the best day to do it. At 8 in the morning...I'm not sure what I was thinking.
This past Friday I woke up early, and got to the Endodontist before they even opened. I saw the padlock was still in place, so I waited in my car and watched podcasts until I saw a lady go inside. I called Kevin for some words of encouragement, I was freaking out. I heard so many different things about root canals, I had NO IDEA what to expect! I wasn't even sure what I root canal was.
This picture pretty much gives you a slight clue:
They sit me in the chair, let me choose what I want to watch on TV, and numb me up. They first numb you for the numbing. Then they come at you with a long needle and slide it into your cheek and other areas around the tooth a few times. He left me for 15 minutes for the numbing to set in. He came back in and asked me a few questions and determined I was not numb enough. I got a whole other round of numbing shots! Not fun. They seemed to hurt worse as he went on. He left me for another 10 minutes. I was watching Saved By the Bell: College Years, so I wasn't too bored. :) He came back and my tongue was starting to go numb, so it was time to start the procedure. He undid everything his dad had done on my tooth preparing it for the root canal. Then I felt pain. I had been told I should not feel any pain, and I did. I got two shots, into my tooth. OUCH! That was the worst of them all.
The procedure lasted about an hour, so I got to watch a little Fresh Prince of Bel Air too. Nearing the end of the procedure, they had to take an x-ray of my tooth. That is where they stick a clamp type object in your mouth and make you bite on it, while they position the x-ray machine through a circle and then take the picture. They had to take the picture of my back molar, as in, they had to shove the clamp thing all the way in the back of my mouth, and boy did I gag. It took three tries for me to keep it in my mouth long enough to get a picture. That was almost as bad as the shots in the tooth. The gagging made my eyes water, so the assistant wiped my eyes. I figured they thought I was pathetic, but I can't help it! It's a reflex.
After he filled in my tooth and I was ready to go, he told me I couldn't eat anything hard until I got my crown. I knew I was going to get the crown at my regular dentist, so today I called them to inquire about it. I figured I could go in sometime this week, and they would put a crown on my tooth. Oh no. I go in for a crown prep on October 8th, I don't even get my crown put on until October 29th! What crap! That is two months of soft food. It's going to get old quick.
That is the tale of my tooth hell.
~Taylor~