I went to the dentist again yesterday for Part II of my root canal procedure. There was a lot of drilling and filing and some more drilling. She explained how she would fill the empty roots (FOUR in all) with little spikes of tree wax. This is the same material used to fill golf balls. To solidify and seal the material, she explained that she would heat it. It all sounded rather natural and sporty. And despite the lengthy high-pitched whirling of the drill, it sounded fairly simple and almost calming. Not.
I will admit that when you have a blowtorch just inches from your face, that the sounds of a dentist drill just aren't that scary anymore. There's something new to worry about especially when the dental assistant is holding the blowtorch with one hand and using the Spit-Sucker instrument with the other. Multi-tasking is not always a good thing. I kept a very watchful eye on the blowtorch right after raising my hand to ask whether or not the device would be inserted into my mouth. There's just not enough Novocaine in the world to withstand an open flame inside one's mouth (nor is there enough therapy I would imagine).
Of course, the dentist just used the flame to heat her sharp Pokey-Thingee to continue with the procedure. Smoke rose from my mouth. Smoke and flames. Seriously, I'll never be unnerved by the sound of a drill again. In all, this took two uninterrupted hours: from 5pm to 7pm...about the time it took for the Novocaine to begin wearing off.
Let me insert something important here...actually, a few important facts:
1. I really like my dentist. First, she is a woman with small hands. Secondly, we talk about kids and handbags and the virtues of the Old Country (she is young but her parents are from Romania).
2. She has told me several times that I have REALLY good insurance. This is true. My two root canals cost me fifty dollars. They cost my insurance company six-thousand, one hundred, and seventy-two dollars. (Yes: $6,172)
3. She has also told me that I need a lot of dental work. This too is true but what she didn't tell me was that she has put me on the Fast Track to Dental Health.
After she completed the packing and melting process she said something to the effect of "something something something...so if you'd like we can work a little longer and get some of this taken care of." It sounded reasonable at the time so I agreed. The beginnings of three crowns and two additional hours later, this didn't seem like such a great idea (not to me anyway, but then she's the one with two children under the age two who must attend college one day...I get the feeling that I personally am setting up a scholarship for them...okay, not so much me as Aetna Insurance).
First she pumped me up with more Novocaine, drilled quite a bit longer, took impressions, and then molded, refined and glued temporary teeth (3 in all). I left the ordeal at 9pm. I had been given the "legal amount" of Novocaine that can be administered in 24 hours. Had this not been so, I think I may have left with every tooth capped, cavity filled and a literal million dollar smile. As it was, I wasn't smiling, but I think I may have been drooling a little. I think perhaps, that she was doing both.
Today my mouth is so sore that I cannot open it enough to even fit a small donut inside my mouth. I know, I tried. Even though I broke the donut into small pieces, it still hurt significantly to chew. I'm thinking someone got the famous quote backwards....it's the doctor (or more specifically, dentist) that keeps the apple away....far, far away.
I know in a few days time that my mouth will feel much improved. In fact, I'd almost guarantee that it will be great feeling in just 5 days time....because that's when I go back for more. Pain isn't always about love, but these still make me feel like someone understands my plight:
Torch Song Playlist
Cry Baby - Janis Joplin
Love Hurts - Emmylou Harris & Gram Parsons
Please Heart, You're Killing Me - Eleanor McEnvoy
Did I Say That? - Meat Loaf
Crying - Vonda Shepard
How Can You Mend a Broken Heart? - Al Green
Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer - Joan Baez
A Case of You - k.d. land
Crazy - Patsy Cline
This One's for You - Barry Manilow (I know...I just can't help myself)
Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye - Natalie Cole
It's Too Late - Carole King
She Thinks I Still Care - James Taylor
Goodbye My Lover - James Blunt
I'll Survive - B.B. King
Piece of My Heart - Janis Joplin (no one sings pain like Janis)
