2.5 hours in the dentist's chair today, and that wraps everything up except for the main event: The whole root canal/crown thing. I am told that, now that I have reached the zenlike state of being able to fall asleep while they're drilling my teeth, the root canals should be a breeze. We'll see.
Now for an aspirin and some saganaki & a gyro salad; my special treat for being good and not squirming around too much in the chair.
You can sleep through a tooth drilling?
ReplyDeleteWe are not worthy.
Dreaming under anesthesia is not fulfilling. Hope you feel better soon.
ReplyDeleteThis unworthy grasshopper begins to understand some small part of the source of snark, though the methods and mad skill with which the snark is delivered still is a source of wonder.
Take a big wad of (non blood thinning) anti inflammatory before you go in for the root canal. It will reduce swelling and pain after the event.
ReplyDeleteTake a big wad of (non blood thinning) anti inflammatory before you go in for the root canal. It will reduce swelling and pain after the event.
ReplyDeleteI think of Marathon Man....
ReplyDeleteAfter my root-canal I stopped getting sinus infections, hope your outcome is equally beneficial.
ReplyDeleteGood for you!
ReplyDeleteYou are made of sterner stuff than I.
My root canal was painless. The only part that was bad, but interesting, was him digging around and pulling the root out, I could feel it, just wasn't painful.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I had a full-grown dentist and was not a practice dummy for a wannabe. Good luck.
Meh. Don't waste your money. Just get it pulled and be done with it. Use that money for your new AR5000 zebra upper particle accelerator you wanna build.
ReplyDeleteI hear pterodactyl makes a sweet one! ;-)
CIII
I certainly envy your ability to zonk out in the chair. I have 3 crowns, and the 1st and 3rd were not any fun. The 3rd did not get a root canal. The 2nd did, and even with 6 canals, it wasn't bad at all, just tedious. The biggest difference is in how good the dentist is. I'm going to try very hard to not have my next crown down at the same place as the last.
ReplyDeleteNever had a root canal. Ain't looking for one. But Saganaki as an appetizer followed by other Greek food is wonderful. Hope you have a good time and you get plenty of pain killers to keep you happy.
ReplyDeleteI think there's an extra "Drill, Baby, Drill" bumper-sticker in the barn I could send you...
ReplyDelete...well, maybe that's not the best idea...
Dann in Ohio
Glad to hear the dental work is winding down... You're a better person than I to put up with that much of it!!!
ReplyDeleteWow that sounds really familiar.
ReplyDeleteAbout 4 years ago I had all the silver fillings replaced (they where old and lose) I also had two crowns that never matched redone, Not knowing any better I thought that was the best they could do my dentist shook her head cussed out the lazy bastard. Then I had one new crown put in and one root canal. Average time in chair - 4 hours You do it enough you learn to sleep :) I blame my first dentist who was a Sadist for my deep seated fear of the CHAIR. My new dentist is great - no pain (except my sore jaw).
Only problem I ran into was with the root canal - when injecting the anesthetic the oral surgeon hit a nerve cluster and the left side of my tongue was numb for about 6 months. Set a new record, previous was 6 weeks :)
My worst dental experience occurred after the root canal was done. I had returned to get the permanent crown fitted but the gum had grown where it wasn't supposed to grow during the two week wait. So Something Had To Be Done.
ReplyDeleteThe dentist used an electrocautery tool to trim the tissue back. It didn't hurt, exactly, but the current passing through my body felt very odd. The absolute worst part was smelling, and tasting, my own charred flesh. Burnt barbeque with an extra side of nasty.
I am going under the drill for my 4th root canal Monday AM. I agree with folks who suggest taking a heroic dose of NSAIDs. I also suggest taking some Afrin nasal spray beforehand, because it makes it easy to breathe through your nose. You don't want to be congested when they are working in your mouth, because they will put a dam around the tooth that obstructs mouth breathing.
ReplyDeleteBut really, pain wise, most of the tooth pain that lead to each of the root canals was 100x worse than the root canal itself. The hardest part is just keeping your mouth open that long.
OMG, you have more hours in the Dentist's chair than some commutor airline co-pilots have in the cockpit!
ReplyDeleteI too visit the nearby d school where the usual appt lasts up to 3 hrs. I call my student Dr. Szell from time to time but she has not seen the movie. Marathon Man should be required viewing for every dentist.
ReplyDeleteDr.Szell: Is it not remarkable? Simple oil of cloves, and how amazing the results. Life can be that simple. Is it safe?
I confess that I Don't Get It.
ReplyDeleteI've had three root canals.
The first, in a molar, was done by a dentist, who took 3 1/2 hours, start to finish. The results were fine but the process, although painless, was interminable.
The second, in the opposite molar, was done by an endodontist. The tooth had been covered by a porcelain crown for about 25 years, so his work included grinding off that crown, doing a root canal on three roots, followed by putting a titanium post in the root and building up a synthetic base for a new crown. He administered the anaesthetic (big deal) and let it take effect for about 20 minutes. Then, 45 minutes later, he was done. The anaesthetic took about eight hours to wear off, and there was no pain or swelling afterwards. No, I do not exaggerate.
The third, with a single root, was done by the same endodontist. The tooth had a fairly new gold crown on it, so he drilled a hole through the top, did the root canal, then sealed the hole. It took the same 20 minutes for the anaesthetic as before, but the rest of the job took 20 minutes.
Look up "endodontics": it's the branch of dentistry that deals with diseases of the tooth root, dental pulp, and surrounding tissue. Endodontists are root canal specialists. Mine kept three assistants busy, and I mean there was never a wasted motion. The choreography was as impressive as the procedure.
I admit to a very small sample, but the result of my experience is that I will NEVER have a dentist do a root canal again. Yes, an endodontist costs more, but the bitterness of a wrong choice lasts longer than the pleasure of a low price.
I've had the Zen thing down since high school. Conked out on my dentist, who did advertise as being painless, while he was putting in a filling with a local anesthetic only. Was so sound asleep that he had to wake me when he was done.
ReplyDelete