When my dentist first scheduled my root canal for April 1 it gave me hope. Maybe I would show up and she would say, “April Fools! You don’t really need a root canal. You just need a quick filling.”
When I showed up early this morning, I pointed out that it was April 1 and she said she doesn’t do April Fools Day.
Uh oh. Root canal, here I come.
I’ve never had one before, but they are often used as an example of something awful, so that can’t be good. My dentist when through all of the possible problems that could arise during the procedure and I wanted to head for the hills. But I didn’t.
She gave me more shots than I ever imagined needing because once she got to the nerve, I could still feel her digging around. I have no idea how many shots she gave me, but I’m guessing it was a couple dozen or more. Thankfully, you only feel the first one.
My dentist offered to talk me through the procedure – telling me what she was doing each step of the way, but that didn’t sound all that appealing. The idea of hearing that she was touching a raw nerve made my knees go weak. Call me a wuss if you want to.
So, I sat there relatively oblivious to what was going on. She checked on me every once in a while. She finally told me she was irrigating the canals and then she’d begin the filling process.
I couldn’t imagine hearing anything sweeter.
Several hours later, the numbing effect is just about worn off and my tooth has a dull throb thing going on – pretty much what my dentist told me to expect. I took some Ibuprofen. Now I think I’m going to climb into my recliner and get some sleep. Maybe the pain will be gone when I wake up.
