Root Canals are Fun

Image via WikipediaIn light of the *wonderful* news of needing another root canal (insert eye roll here), here's a little preview of the last root canal prep that I posted on a forum not one year ago, after my last one. Hopefully there will be no more root canals after this.

I've had this toothache for um...nearly 3 months probably and just today went to the dentist. I know, I know, that's awful of me, but I have a fear of dentists because the one I had during childhood would threaten us with more shots in the mouth and had the biggest fattest hands you've ever seen and would hurt your mouth with how much he'd have to open it up to get his fat fingers inside. Ok...moving on.

So I wake up this morning in so much pain that I am crying. Let me tell ya, it takes a LOT to make me cry when it comes to pain. You may hear a slew of curse words...but almost never crying.

I call the dentists office and ask for an emergency appointment and they could get me within the hour. SWEET.

I thought they would give me antibiotics and pain meds and THEN have me come back like in a week or so after the abscess is gone. Nope. He says "we can either extract it or save it". Umm save it you old git, I'm 26 and don't need to have "windows" in my mouth like a 4 year old.

He numbs me...or so we think...and 10 minutes later he starts with that insufferable drill and I yelp. "Oh does that still hurt?" Umm yeah. Another round of shots...he comes back 10 mins later and tries again. Again PAIN so more shots. He starts again and this mofo does not stop. He tells me that because the filling I have is in the way and he can't numb the nerve directly, he has to drill through it. I am white-knuckling that chair and in so much pain my WHOLE body is trembling, I am crying, and I feel like I'm gonna puke.

Finally when I feel like I'm gonna pass out they have drilled through the tooth and give me another injection and it's fine. He shoves an antibiotic pellet up in there, does some scraping and poking and seals it up. I am getting prepped for a root canal, you see, and this was the pulpotomy.

He gave me a prescription for Loritabs and it's not even putting a dent in the pain. I'm not kidding, I can feel every pulsing and throbbing just as well as if I'd taken nothing at all.

So for $220 today, I got a lot of pain and suffering which he says will last for 3 days. THEN I have to schedule my root canal which I'm told is going to be another $800 or so. This tooth will cost me $1000+ and the worst pain of my life.

Thanks for listening...Can we have a pity party for me now? Pain meds would be a welcome gift.

ETA: Stop drinking diet soda. He says it's weakening my teeth and the acid is eating away at my enamel. He also said that diet sodas with the artificial sweeteners are worse than regular for this.

Root Canals are Fun