I went to THREE dentists today! I started with my regular dentist for a tooth that was very painful to the touch and forget about eating on that side. I was pretty sure I had an infection. She took an x-ray and said it didn’t look like an infection but it could need a root canal, or maybe it’s a gum/bone problem. “It’s hard to say.” Meantime, I’m in pain but don’t like to take medication. So she called the root canal guy who agreed to see me right away. I asked if I should take my x-ray with me and she said, “I already emailed it to him.” Wow. The last time I needed dental work, they clipped my x-ray to a lighted screen and it was the size of a postage stamp. I headed for dentist #2 who took some kind of 180 scan photo and then started poking around but I was in pain so he offered to numb the area. I made the mistake of opening my eyes and seeing the needle before it went in. I’ll never do that again! He numbed the area (so he said) and then started shoving a sharp metal ice pick into my gums. Okay, it may have been a thin dental probe but com’on! I could still feel it! It must have been two feet long! What’s the point of that anyway? Then I asked if I could rinse….. and I saw blood!!!

“You don’t need a root canal,” he said, “but you have to see the gum guy.” He didn’t call him the gum guy but I left and headed for the third dentist. On the way, the numbing stopped working and now came some serious pain, from the damage done by the ice pick. When I got to the third office, I was in severe pain. I must have looked bad because they gave me 4 Advil and 2 Tylenol all at once. With no food. Before the pills kicked in, I was in chair #3 and out came the ice pick again. He started with the poking and the prodding and I pushed his hand away. “Can you give me some topical stuff for pain before you go mining in there?” He offered another numbing by needle and much as I hate needles, it was a relief. Go for it. It can’t hurt any more than this pain I’m having now. So I got another injection (so it seemed) until the prod came out. Maybe they should wait a little longer for the numbing to work – just a thought. There was more sharp, jolting pain and when he was done he said, “You don’t need gum surgery. There may be a crack in the root but it’s hard to say.” He suggested I have the infection cleaned out for starters and see if it heals up on its own. I’m going back Thursday.

Finally, I was able to drive home.  The pills kicked it and the pain was gone… but I was high! With no food, the pills made me dizzy and I was afraid I’d get a DUI. So I pulled over, found some almonds in my purse and ate them, on my good side, the side that wasn’t numb.  My bad side was still numb but I managed to get home and couldn’t wait to have some green tea and relax.  I made a cup of tea, sat down, sipped my tea, and it all spilled down my face and onto my clothes. I guess you’re supposed to wait for the numbness to be gone. Who cares? I think I’m still high.