A Root Canal

I've always had pretty good teeth- besides those three years in Jr. High when I had to wear braces- those were not my favorite. But, besides braces and only a few cavities over my life I really have had great teeth. 

Until about 2 years ago. 

I had this one molar that started causing me a lot of pain and aches, after dealing with it for a few months I went to a dentist. He looked at it, poked and prodded, then said it was probably just my TMJ that was causing the pain. (Yes, I tend to stress and as a result I bite my jaw down hard- resulting in some TMJ pain. It's fun.) Anyway, I paid that Dentist a bunch of money then continued to deal with the pain- and continued to take a lot of IBprofin! 

Fast forward another year, the pain is getting worse and along with it are some serious headaches. 

I decided to go to a different Dentist, as soon as he examined my tooth he noticed it was cracked. (Without a X-ray- yeah, nice job other guy!) So we decided to do a crown right then. I even asked for him to bust out the pliers and just pull it- I couldn't handle the pain any longer! He said that wasn't a very good idea! Because of the location of the crack and the depth he told me there was a chance that the crown might not be enough- but we hoped for the best. 

Another 6-9 months go by. At first the pain was much less, I thought it was finally getting better! Then it slowly came back and so did the headaches. I dealt with it as long as I could thinking it might eventually go away. 

Then it didn't go away. 

I went back in this past month and got my options. 1. Root Canal right then. 2. Take some steroids and hope that that makes the swelling go down and fixes it self, if not- Id be back in a few months for a root canal. 

After dealing with the pain and headaches for so long I didn't want to do it any longer, my whole face would become tender and I would have terrible neck and face aches at night waking me up. Who knew a tooth could cause so much pain!! 

The Dentist could see that the nerves were very swollen and was concerned that the steroid might not be enough. So we decided to just do the root canal. 

Fun. 

We started right away. but I had a hard time getting numb, after 3 shots and a really painful shot on the roof of my mouth I finally felt numb and that I might be able to handle the drilling- no such luck. I could feel everything! My eyes were watering and I wanted to die. It was terrible. 

Super fun. 

He immediately quit and we opted to do the root canal with the 2 day process. So he inserted something that kills the nerves and sealed the tooth. He could tell the nerves were to swollen and it wasn't going to be ideal- he sent me home feeling awful and a prescription for pain meds. 

I'm not sure how I arrived home safe because I felt like I was about to die! I went straight to bed with a ice pack on my face and tried my best to deal with the pain with out the meds. Bad idea. 

Later that night I was regretting that decision. (After taking them though I got really sick- that is when I remembered why I don't like them.) 

This is a picture Carmen took- I was not a very aware of what was happening in my home- thank goodness for a amazing friend who came and took my girls with out me even asking- all.day.long. I was dead to the world and complete unaware of what what happening!

Anyway- my face hurt for a few days and was tender, but nothing major. This past week I had to go back for the actual procedure. I was a nervous wreck! However, after killing the nerves and getting another 3 shots to get numb it wasn't all that bad! I didn't feel much and as soon as it was over I immediately felt relief! Finally! 

I took a pic while I was waiting for the numbing to come on- after 3 shots look how swollen my face is!! Ha! I'm not sure why that stuff wears off so fast on me- however Driving home I couldn't stop laughing at my awesome "Stroke face!"  No shame here! 

It's been a few days and Im just now realizing how much I favored that side of my mouth, I catch myself jerking when I start to chew or drink anticipating the pain! But it's gone- phew!

I dont enjoy going to the dentist and would prefer never to go again! But now after feeling so much better already I am more than grateful for Dentists! I haven't had a headache in a week and I'm already feeling like a different person.  So lesson learned: if your face hurts and you have headaches everyday go to the Dentist. (And get a side job to cover the costs!)