The Tooth Drama

Hey! Have I forgotten to mention my tooth? Oh yes. The underlying trouble all weekend long was the fact that I have had a throbbing tooth since last Tuesday. For a week. You see, about three weeks ago, a filling in my back molar chipped a little. I didn't think too much of it, but then, on the Saturday after Halloween, while eating a little box of Milk Duds, the remainder of the filling came out.

Oh that's right. My entire filling. Which took up most of the tooth. A tooth that had never had a root canal. So I went to the dentist to have it filled. And they decided I needed a crown as well. So for two and a half hours last Tuesday, I sat and had dental work done. I had five shots in my mouth. FIVE. SHOTS. And I felt every single one.

Here's the kicker, though. I asked if I needed a root canal since A) there's been a lot of trauma to the tooth, and B) I was about to get a $1000 crown put on it and would hate to have a hole drilled into it after the fact.

"Oh no." The dentist said. "Don't worry about that."

Yeah.

And that is why, for the past week, my tooth has been throbbing. Not too terribly at first. After all, I'd just had some pretty major work done. But later on in the week, I started feeling it more. And taking ibuprofen. Lots of ibuprofen. And then last night, at about 2AM, the pain woke me up out of a deep sleep.

Says the girl who doesn't need a root canal.

Ugh.

And allow me to clarify something here... I'm no stranger to root canals, having had two of them. Nor am I a stranger to dental work and crown prep work as my 25th birthday gift from my parents was a new smile. Not only that, I fully understand and accept that pain is a part of certain dental procedures. But DAMN IT ALL TO HELL! I know my mouth. It takes quite a bit of novocaine to deaden the area, so let's do it all up front next time, m'kay? Maybe you'll listen to me so that I don't jump out of the chair? Maybe? And I know when a tooth of mine will probably need something drastic. And in this case, that root needs to go.