Tooth Tales

I've been neglecting this blog for a while but for very good reason. It's hard for me to do anything that requires much thought when a tooth is causing waves of intense pain on one side of my face. That was my experience this week.

It began last week with some sudden aches in my jaw. They didn't last long, so I didn't worry too much. By Monday, I had decided it was getting worse, more frequent and that I should probably go see the dentist. I knew for sure one tooth that was contributing to the pain, but I began to worry that there were other teeth that also had some problems (I don't have the greatest dental health history, you see).

I got into the dentist early Tuesday morning (with Edwin in tow). They weren't exactly sure what the cause was, so they referred me to the endodontist (who I was going to go to months ago because of one specific tooth that I should've had a root canal on almost two years ago - but a move and pregnancy got in the way of that). I called for an appointment and was told the earliest was a week later.

When the pain increased soon after that, I called back asking if they had any emergency openings. I was prepared to be assertive. Otherwise, I would have fed Edwin nothing but dry cereal for a week, and Dan would've had to get take-out for supper. I endured natural childbirth, and this pain was much worse. Mostly because I knew I wasn't getting a sweet cuddly baby out of it. And I think I'm a wimp when it comes to mouth pain.

Anyway, long story short, I went in (again with Edwin in tow), they did an x-ray, saw some inflammation, and suggested I come in the next day. Sounded good to me.

A friend watched Edwin while I went in for what is normally a procedure a little over an hour. It wasn't too bad. The worst part is the sound of the drills. I kept trying to watch what they were doing in the reflection of the microscope (except when they had the drills going), but I couldn't quite see it. Oh, well.

Unfortunately, my tooth wouldn't get totally numb because of the inflammation, so they took care of the main and I have to go back in about a week to get the procedure finished. Thankfully the aching pain is gone and I can function again.

The tale almost ends there. This troublesome tooth has a crown on it. They had removed the crown, drilled and dug around, and then replaced it using some weak cement so it would pop off easily next time. Well it popped off while eating dinner. So I had to go back in yesterday (again with Edwin) so they could cement it back on.

Hopefully all will be calm from here on out. And one good thing is that the searing pain and multiple trips to the dentist and endodontist all happened after Dan's and my Valetine's dinner date.

Probably more than you cared to read, but this is what's been filling my days lately.

Take care of those teeth!