I survived.

(see prior post)

Now I hope the tooth will.

$500 for an hour and a half of torture. Such a deal!

Well, it wasn't really torture. I'm making that up. It was uncomfortable. Until they strapped on the nitrous oxide, and then.. whoooo caaaarreed...

:)

I did feel the shots of anesthetic. Hate those. But they do work. And then there *was* that little "pop" when he blew right through the bottom of the long tap root with the "antibacterial plasticine substance" they fill the canal with. He assured me he didn't damage anything. Yeah, right. But really, that was all. Didn't even feel the incision when he sliced open what remained of the abscess pocket, to give it a chance to "breathe", he said. Blood everywhere (darn those daily baby aspirin), but hey, that's what gauze is for.

Oh, and the latex dental dam helped, too. And now I know what they *really* are designed for, as opposed to the recreational uses they get put to in certain segments of the population. ;) Ever since I got my hepatitis vaccines in that one free clinic out East I've wondered about that. The literature on the tables was.. um.. quite descriptive. But it sure wasn't about dentistry.

The guy who performed the endodontics work could hardly pass for a grown up dentist, though. If 50 is the new 30, he must have been all of 15. But a real type A personality and sure knew what he was doing. Good thing, too, since those little instruments of his looked like hard brass acupuncture needles and he was just a-scrapin' away with them inside me somewhere. Yikes!

His assistant, though.. she had that orange-y blond hair that comes from some Wal-Mart version of Miss Clairol, and was probably 35, but looked at least my age. She had this hacking smoker's cough and looked like she'd closed a few taverns in her time. Like last Saturday. Quite a pair, these two.

As for me, more antibiotics, lots of Ibuprofen, and a couple of days of "chewing discomfort." I gotta hope that passes before Thanksgiving dinner. I do plan on some chewing then.

Best thing about the trip to the root canal chamber of horrors today was that it's about half a mile from Trader Joe's and they have their cheapo version of a Nouveau Beaujolais out now. Woo.. I'm getting started on that puppy right now! Before the anesthetic wears off.