Dental Dilemmas

Yesterday I was at my dentist’s office at 10:00 AM prepared to spend a good part of my Saturday getting a root canal. Not the best way to spend a weekend, but I had no choice. For the last 4 nights, I’ve been kept awake by a sharp pain on my upper right molar. When I stopped by the dental clinic after work on Thursday, the prognosis was not good. I needed a root canal and a crown. I knew it would hurt but after 4 nights of toothache-hell, I was ready for anything! I think compared to having a toothache every night, I would have taken a root canal procedure any day!

However, after getting x-rayed and prepped, my dentist tells me my nerves are not visible in the x-ray and therefore he would have to refer me to a root canal specialist. I would be given a 4-day respite and would have to come back on Wednesday to see Dr. Park. I was worried – 4 more days of pain??? Then and there I actually considered just getting my tooth extracted but Dr. Hameed read my mind and promised he would give me painkillers to help me get thru the wait. Aaah. Painkillers. Thank God for these little white pills. Because of them I got to spend the weekend relatively pain-free. And what a good weekend it was -- my niece’s first birthday on Saturday and shopping and decorating our home for the holidays with my hubby on Sunday.

Of course, my hubby spent a good part of the weekend teasing me about my dental dilemmas. In the last 3 or so years I have had my fillings replaced, gone for a crown, had one of my wisdom teeth extracted, got my chipped tooth re-shaped, went for several cleanings, and now am facing a root canal. It hardly seems fair since I religiously brush, floss and gargle twice a day. It is my hubby on the other hand who I have to remind, cajole, and nag to brush his teeth every night. But in the last three years, he has never had any dental issues. I mean it’s not that I want Jojo to have any dental problems, it’s just ironic that I’m the one who keeps getting them! I know there are a lot of other factors apart from daily brushing – like nutrition and heredity – that bring about problems like this - all I can say is it's also a lot of “dumb luck” !