Dental Work

I am not a big fan of having my teeth worked on. Maybe that is because my first dental appointment was when I was seven and the dentist had to pull out my baby tooth, root and all, because my other tooth was coming in behind it. Then when I was in the 2nd or 3rd grade I had crooked teeth and found out I could straighten them by myself using my tongue, no need for braces. The next time I remember going to the dentist was when I was 16 or 17 and it felt so gross to have my teeth cleaned. All that gunk going down your throat, yuck! So I'm not very good about seeing a dentist regularly.

I would have to say that I am very lucky to have experienced minimal tooth problems in my life. I have only been to the dentist about half a dozen times in my life time. The last time I went to the dentist, until yesterday, was right around the time I graduated from high school. I haven't felt the need to because I don't have cavities and we haven't been able to afford having my wisdom teeth pulled.

Unfortunately, all of this lack of desire to take the time to address preventative care has left me with a very big problem. I am having a root canal done and a crown put on this week because I have a tooth that has rotted out and a nerve that has died.

It has been a painful experience the last week or so with the constant tooth and jaw pain. I finally did some research online to see what could be going on and determined that I would probably need a root canal. When I called to make my appointment I told the doctor that I would probably need a root canal and he asked me how I knew that. I responded that according the research I had done and where and what the pain was I believed that is what needed to happen. He said that he could get me in for a diagnostic examination in the afternoon.

When it was my turn to meet with the doctor, he looked at me and looked at my X-ray and said that I was right about needing a root canal. He then asked me if I went to some weird website online to do my research. I responded with, "No. I looked it up on Wikipedia.com. I have found that they have the most accurate and reliable information." To which, my dentist's expression said, "Oh." I guess it is not every day that you have a patient with very limited dental experience diagnose themselves accurately without exaggeration.

The other funny part about today's appointment was that the dentist explained to me that while he is very sorry to have to do a root canal on me, he is kind of excited because it is one of his favorite procedures. I guess that is why he is a dentist, and I am not. There is nothing about someone else's teeth that excites me beyond seeing them stay in the other person's mouth far away from me.

So I will be having oral surgery and repairs done on my tooth this week. I am not overly thrilled, but I am excited to be done with the pain and be able to use all of my mouth again. This will be my first experience of being in the dental chair for longer than 20 minutes and real pain. Wish me luck!