Root Canals Suck

Yes, they do.

Up until today I'd had two root canals; now I've had three. I don't remember much about the first two. The only thing I remember from the first one is that my dentist (who was pretty cute) had hairy ears. The second one I could feel. Not just discomfort, but there was a bit of pain. I didn't like it, but again, I don't remember much other than my dentist and the assistant talking about the local university's women's softball team.

Today was root canal number three. My first two root canals were a fog because I had nitrous. Hell, for a long time I needed nitrous just to get my butt in a dentist's chair. But a root canal? I know I can't get through a root canal without something to keep me calm. So imagine my shock and surprise when I got to the root canal place and was told they didn't do nitrous.

Now, I know some people don't like nitrous because it makes them sick. But when I found that out they rarely gave nitrous because "most people" don't need it, I got very quite and still. I'm not "most people" when it comes to the dentist. The dentist and his assistant kept telling me to take deep breaths to calm down. Listen, people, this is a fear. An honest to god, real fear. I was clenching the arms rests on the chair so hard I thought I was going to pull them off. And I realized I was shaking. The irrational part of my brain wanted to get up out of the chair and leave because like hell I was going through that without drugs. But the rational part of my brain knew this had to be done and while I could probably get through it without drugs, I didn't want to. My old dentist would give patients Valium to calm them down before giving them something else to calm them down... but I was in the land of the Stepford Wife, so Valium was probably in the water. Anyway, after being on the verge of tears, they pulled out the nitrous.

I was still tense, and I'm surprised that I don't have permanent bruises from where I dug my nails into my palms. I had my headphones on, but I could still hear the dentist and assistant talking about the police (maybe in Vegas?) and the making of some documentary. They seemed to be more interested in their own conversation than about me trying to wiggle my way off the chair. I know it was a routine root canal (or so he said), but I would have appreciated a little more chairside manner.

Speaking of my old dentist--much of this hell was caused by a filling that was too close to the nerve (which explains a lot of things). For some reason I don't remember, this caused an irritation that eventually lead to the inflammation that made my face puff up like a balloon.

So, now, the Novocain has worn off and I'm in pain. It isn't as bad as it was right after I got home, but it is a dull ache. The dentist didn't want me to take the vicodin (I haven't been taking it lately), but considering how much this hurts, I may not listen to him.