Relief!
When it’s Monday and your husband has gone back to work and there is no one around to supervise an active toddler but yourself you shouldn’t take codeine. Or maybe it’s just me. With that in mind, I took way too many Advil to try to keep the tooth pain at bay and about did a back flip when the dentist’s office called me back and offered a 5:30 appointment.
I went in and was once again reminded that this guy is earnest and sincere, but he’s no Dr. Dressel. I love Dr. Dressel. Until last February, Dr. Dressel was the only dentist I’d ever seen. I’d go get my teeth checked every summer and that was that. No need to visit strange dentists in strange cities when I could go to the best dentist on the face of the planet. Dr. D specializes in pediatric dentistry though he serves patients of all ages. It’s hard to get in to see him because he’s extremely popular, but he’s worth the wait. I’ve never, ever experienced a moment of discomfort or pain while sitting in his chair.
This new dentist is competent, but he’s not particularly gentle. He lets the various instruments bump against your lips and he rests his hand on your eye ball. He’s not mean or rough, but he’s not careful either. He makes no effort to hide the needle before giving you a shot. I always thought dentists giving shots were something of a myth. I don’t know how Dr. D does it, but he makes sure the patient never sees the needle. I kind of like seeing the needle because I’m morbid and think it’s exciting, but I know I’m weird and a lot of people would prefer Dr. D’s method of hiding the instruments.
The new dentist, Dr. R did a procedure that starts with a p but I’m not sure what the word is. It wasn’t a full root canal, but he did pull the nerves out of the tooth. If the tooth is feeling ok on Thursday he’ll give me a referral to a root canal specialist to get the procedure completed. He numbed me up good with something much stronger than is used for a normal filling. I tried to eat a bowl of oatmeal when I got home and I couldn’t keep my lips shut. I was so pretty that I’m surprised Mike didn’t throw everything off the table and jump on me right then and there.
Here’s hoping the procedure worked. My Advil wore off about ten minutes before my appointment tonight and I thought I was going to die while I was waiting for the dentist to come and numb me. The numbing. . . what sweet, sweet relief! I had all kinds of things sticking out of my mouth and a strange guy huddled over me, but I almost fell asleep because I was finally pain free.
I don’t think I can have another baby. I don’t want to go through another root canal because the next baby sucks up all my calcium* and I won’t be able to find any shoes at all if another baby makes my feet even wider. Ah, the sacrifices we make for these little munchkins. I’m starting to see the pay off, though. Erik is developing a great little personality and keeps me entertained all the time. He’s been a little angel for the past couple of weeks and it makes life much easier. I loved him when he was a newborn and miss holding a squishy, soft, sweet little lump of life but man oh man do I not miss the screaming.
*Interesting side-note: when I was looking for emergency dentists this weekend I found a dentist that specialized in women’s dentistry. I didn’t know there was such a thing, but according to his website women have very different dental concerns than men because of our hormone fluctuations. Interesting.
November 28th, 2006 at 5:24 am
Probably a pulpectomy. They take part of the inside of the tooth out prior to the root canal person killing the tooth & doing something with the nerves. Yes, I too had baby calcium loss. I think Dr. Willhoite could probably give your Dr. D a run for his money. She’s the best – lets me have nitrous to get my teeth cleaned. Yes, I’m *that* big of a scaredy cat.