Removed Root

Three weeks ago a trip to the dentist revealed a crack in my wisdom tooth. After putting in a temporary filling the dentist sent me on my way with instructions to come back two weeks later to make it permanent. However, during that visit he discovered that the damage was more extensive than originally thought. During the drilling process the tooth root was exposed. He told me my best option was to have a root canal, which they could cover with a crown.

Once back at home I called the recommended endodontist for an appointment. I have great teeth and rarely ever need anything other than checkups and cleanings, so seeing a specialist was new territory for me. Fortunately there was an opening six days later and (even though it was at 8 AM, and I'd have to drive through rush hour to get there) I took it.

For the past week my tooth was uncomfortable, but unless I forgot and chewed something on that side there wasn't too much pain.

Today was Root Canal day. The building was easy to find on the second floor of a small strip mall I've driven by many times over the years. The office was very efficiently run. I only had to sit in the waiting room for a couple of minutes until they called me back. Before I saw the endodontist his assistant took an x-ray of the tooth. Once the endodontist came in he administered the Novocaine and explained exactly what would happen today.

After my lip, chin, and tongue were numb he came and gave me a second shot, explaining that wisdom teeth needed additional numbing. He leaned me back in the chair, arranged his tools, and stuck a dental dam in my mouth to isolate the tooth. His assistant stood on the other side of the chair. Before he started the endodontist told me to keep my eyes closed while he was drilling and raise my left hand if I felt any pain. Then the fun began.

I felt vibrations from the drill, and pressure when he used a file to pick out the smaller pieces, but not much else. The assistant was in charge of irrigating the tooth and sucking out the excess liquid. I wasn't keeping track of the time, but it didn't take too long before I felt him packing something into the tooth.  He asked me to bite down, smoothed everything one more time, and said we were done.

The endodontist left, and the assistant did one last x-ray to check that everything was done correctly before she released me. After a quick stop at the front desk to do the paperwork I left. On the way home I stopped at the pharmacy and filled the prescription I had been given for heavy duty ibuprofin. While I was talking to the pharmacy technician I felt like I was slurring my words, because I couldn't move my tongue properly.

Thee hours later I was hungry for lunch but the left side of my mouth was still completely numb. I made a smoothie in  the blender, then (after I discovered I couldn't drink it without dribbling because my lips were too numb) rooted around the kitchen for a straw to suck it up with.  Good thing there was no one else in the house to watch me!

 As the anesthesia wore off I realized that my tooth didn't ache any more, but the muscles where the drug was injected did. The whole left side of my face felt sore, like I had been punched there.  Chewing my food during dinner and talking with Hubby Tony seemed to loosen up the area, but it's still tender when I open my mouth too wide.  Google tells me everything should be back to normal in a couple of days. I hope it's right.