You can imagine my surprise at seeing this where my dentist office was supposed to be. I parked my car anyway and took a look around. At first all I could see was boards, construction workers, and a fence. It took me a moment to see that there was a sign on the fence and that it wasn't just for the workers. This lovely sign said that my dentist office was still open during construction and all I had to do was walk in the opening in the fence to get into it. My first thought was why in the world would I want to walk into a building under construction, let alone when it is the dentist office that I am walking into.
I walked in anyway. And the inside of the place looked.....exactly the same. Apparently it was only the outside that was getting redone. The only difference on the inside was the noise. Since they are working on the building you could hear it all when inside. Lets just say that listening to saws, hammers, and drills is not the best soundtrack when you are getting your teeth cleaned. Now I don't like the dentist as it is. I had way to many cavities as a kid to make me ever want to spend time there. Upon hearing the noise I almost turned around and went right back out the door. But they were too quick. They saw me and had me back in the chair before I could think what to do.
Now even though I don't like going to the dentist, I really don't mind getting my teeth cleaned. I always love the way they feel after the fact. So when the dental assistant came in to clean them I didn't mind at all. In fact I willing sat in chair and opened my mouth so she could get to work. The one thing that I have never figured out though is why they always try to talk to you while they are cleaning your teeth. I swear, every time they ask a question their hands are in my mouth and they look all expectant like they are waiting for an answer. I don't know about you, but there is no way I am going to try and answer a question when there are someones hands in my mouth with sharp pointy tools. Anyway, the cleaning went well and the lady said that my teeth looked good to her. She even said that I was keeping up with things really well and that she would see me again in 6 months. She then said that the doctor was just going to come in and take a look and then I would be on my way. It turns out that the doctor didn't agree.
He took a look at my teeth and said that they looked pretty good. Then he looked at the x-rays....and looked at the x-rays some more and then made that thinking sound that only doctors can make. That one that lets you know that something is just not right. He then turns to me and says that he is concerned about one of my back teeth. He thinks it might be dying and wants to do a test on it. He then proceeds to get another x-ray, a can of air, and a cotton swab. From here he sprays the air on the swab to make it extremely cold. He then tells me that he is going to place it against my teeth and wants me to tell him how it feels. Sounds fun right. So he puts it against my tooth and looks at me expectantly and I know he wants me to tell him what I feel. Well, this is what I feel.....absolutely nothing. I mean I can feel that something is there, but it doesn't hurt in the slightest. He then moves the swab to the tooth next to it. Now I feel something, and it sure is not comfortable. To him, this proves that my tooth is dead and that I need a root canal. I told him to try again. He just laughed and told me to come back in two weeks to get it fixed.
Therefore, two weeks later on October 29 at 9:00 am, I once again found myself pulling into the construction zone known as my dentist office. When I walked in they got me right back into the room. I never even got the chance to sign in, let alone to sit down. I guess they knew that if I had to wait very long I probably would have bolted. Once I was in the chair the assistant put the numbing stuff on my teeth. You know, that stuff that no matter how much you try not taste you always manage to taste and get your tongue numb in the process. Then came the shots. The shots that I always hate that pinch and sting as they go in. While waiting for my mouth to go completely numb my dentist kept talking about how easy it would be and how I would walk out of here in two hours with a cleaned out tooth and a new crown. He kept saying that all would be perfectly fine and that it would be quick and easy. I should have never believed him.
For you see, no project with me is ever as easy as it should be. For some reason whenever I do projects or whenever people do projects with me, they always turn into some complicated mess that requires lots of patience. Therefore, I should have known that getting a root canal would be the same way. It all started out simple enough. Put the plastic lining in my mouth to catch the debris, put the green sunglasses on to protect the eyes, and start drilling out the filling to get to the roots. Well, upon drilling out the filling he noticed that I did not have any blood vessels within my tooth, hence the no feeling. Because of this he started to get concerned that my tooth was further decayed then he first thought. He decided to keep going anyway. After drilling out the filling comes drilling out the roots. So he starts drilling them out and he comes to realize that I do not have three roots like any normal person. It appears that I have four. And not only do I have four, but two of them cross over another and then connect. This means that he can not just drill them out, but that he now has to cut them apart as well. So then while he is cutting out my roots and into my gums he tells me that since he is cutting and since I had no blood vessels that he is worried about infection within my gums. Therefore he would like to fill the root canals that he just drilled and cut with antibodies. Because he wants to do this it also means that I can not walk out with a crown today. It means that I have to get a seal put on and wait 7-10 days before I can get it finished. Which means that I will be coming back....and not in 6 months, but in a week. At this point I just laughed.
The next week, especially the next few days, were filled with pain. Lots of pain. Like getting your wisdom teeth yanked out and punched in the jaw type of pain. But since that whole side of my mouth was now bruised and cut up, it was to be expected. Therefore, I was none to thrilled to go back the next Friday on November 5, when it was most likely to happen all again. . . . I went back anyway.
The third time pulling into the parking lot I walked into the office unfazed by the construction going on(when you are getting used to being in the building under construction, you know you have been there way to much). I walked up to the desk, said hi to the secretary by name, signed in, and began my wait in the lobby. About 15 minutes later I was called back to the same chair in the same room that I was in the week before. That alone should have tipped my off to how the day was going to go. For you see, once again I was given the numbing gel that made my mouth go numb. Once again I was given the shots. and once again my dentist was talking about how smooth the visit was going to to go. He stated that he was just going to clean out the antibiotics, finishing drilling the canals, take the images to make the crown, let me chill while the crown baked and then glue it on. He was pretty sure I would be out before the two hours were up. Once again, I should have not believed him, because this is how the day went.
It started with the plastic lining not fitting right. Therefore, whenever they would spray water to clean off the tooth I would get water going down to the back of my throat, as well as out he side of my mouth and down my neck. The assistant kept trying to fix it, but to no avail. Then when my dentist went to drill the rest of the root canals the drill bit was to long and he hit the bone. So he switched drill bits, and and hit the bone again. Turns out that the drill bits were out of order so that one was too long as well. Next, the rubber band on the plastic lining snapped, which caused the metal frame holding it tight to cut the inside of my check opposite the tooth. Apparently, that side didn't want to be left out of the pain. When he was finished drilling out the canals I had to get an x-ray to make sure that they got them all cleared. While doing the x-ray though they could not unhook the plastic lining. Therefore, the whole time they were trying to take it, I was being gagged by it. To make matters worse, it took them three times to get the picture right.
Once they got the pictures he noticed that he need to drill out one of the canals a little bit more and then file down the rest of the tooth around the canals so that the crown would fit. I laid back down on the chair, they fixed the plastic, and then proceed to get back to work. There was one slight problem though...I was no longer numb. We realized this fact rather quickly because of the pain and the jump I gave when he started drilling again. It was quickly decided that I should be given more shots to make me go numb again. For that, I was grateful. From there the drilling got completed and the filing began. The only mishap with the filing was when he dropped one of the sandpaper like pieces onto my neck and then when he ended up cutting my gum in the process of filing the tooth. At this point, I no longer thought that it was funny or amusing. As this point, it just plain hurt and sucked.
With the filing finished he stated that the worst was over and that now we just needed to make the crown and glue it on. He took the pictures that were needed and then I was left to chill while they went and made it. About 15 minutes later he came back in with the crown. By this point I had already been there for over two hours and I was just ready to go home. I thought I was going to be free and clear. But this is what happened. I went back to the chair, laid down, and opened my mouth. They proceed to dry the tooth and put the cement glue on it. Then he placed the crown and pushed upwards to make sure it was in place. From there they place a machine on it to make sure that the cement cures. So the assistant dose this and then my dentist goes in to clean off the extra cement. It turns out that the cement had not cured all of the way yet so when he pulled on the side the crown lifted up. In that action though, the cement hardened. So now I have a crown that has been cemented on crookedly. This means that my dentist now has to forcibly remove it. Now remember, I am no longer numb at this point, which means that I fill all of the tugging and pulling that he is doing to rip the crown back off. He finally gets it to come loose and cuts my lip open in the process. In order to get the crown back on, he now has to drill off all of the hardened cement from my tooth and from the crown. Once that is complete, they try again. They proceed to dry the tooth, put new cement on it and then place the crown. The assistant once again cures it, this time longer then the first. Then my dentist cleans off the excess cement, wipes up my bloody lip and proceeds to take another x-ray to make sure all is right. the x-ray is good and they tell me I am free to go. So I now get to leave the dentist after being there for 3 hours with not only a new crown, but also with a bloody lip, a cut check and gum, a bruised bone where the drill hit, and a sore jaw from my mouth being opened so long. On my way out the door the assistant asked if I had drugs that I could take for the next two weeks. That statement assured me that there would be pain, and lots of it.
By the end of this adventure this would be my advice to all: If you ever need a root canal, don't get it. Rather, just get the dang tooth pulled. It is seriously not worth the trouble.
