Well, friends…I’ve been back in the dentist’s chair today. Ever since I had the root canal done, the area around it has been sore. But, I’ve tried not to complain, just suck it up and go on…like a big girl. You know…So, I thought when I went in to my regular dentist today, she would put a crown on it and all would be well. There would be peace in the world…or at least in my mouth! Why I thought it would be that easy is beyond me. I go bopping in to see her and the first thing she says is…well let’s take a look and see why it’s causing you trouble. So, she looks…and then she says, “Now, Tonja, you know there’s more work to do on this tooth.” WAIT. RIGHT. THERE. “I thought it was all done…you know the drilling and the shots and the drilling…”. “No, we still have to clean out the cavity and drill it to get it ready for the crown…and I want to check and make sure there is no infection there. Let me get the nitrous ready.” “Yes, please.” Still under the asumption that it was going to be an easy thing, I knew I was badly mistaken when they sprayed the numbing gook in my mouth and it went down my throat. On top of that my allergies are so bad today…I could not even breathe that delicious nitrous…I had to breathe through my mouth…and I thought my throat was probably paralyzed because of the numbing gook. “This is not going to be one of my better days”, I said to myself. And I was right. Here she comes…needle in hand and proceeds to give me shots…No, I don’t know how many…I was concentrating on trying to force my lungs to breathe because I figured they were paralyzed by now.
So, she commences to drilling and drilling, and drilling. Whatever is she finding to drill on? I thought the monster man from 2 weeks ago drilled it down to nothing. Obviously not. She finally is satisfied that everything that once looked like tooth is forever ground to dust, and says she’s finished. Next they make the temporary. Yucky, but manageable. Then…then…THEN…they mix up this slimy toothepaste feeling stuff that tastes like devils brew…put it in a saucer and shove it into my mouth. ” Bite down and keep your teeth closed. We’ll be back in 10 minutes.” TEN MINUTES! It was bad enough to gag a gnat! Get the picture, friends. I’m laying there with the pig nose contraption on my face, teeth clenched tightly, trying to force a small opening in the good side of my mouth so that I could get some air in, and all the time telling my lungs to breathe in and out. No air through my nose…none. This stuff in my mouth is slowly turning to cement, and the oldies station on the radio is playing, “Knock 3 times on the ceiling if you want me, twice on the pipes if the answer is no…” The longest 10 minutes of my life. They finally decide to free me from my misery. They put on the temporary and say to come back in two weeks. She said, “Now, don’t worry, there won’t be any shots, or drills, or death by cement. It’ll just be real easy.” “Can I at least have a few whiffs of the nitrous?”,I say. They laughed…they thought I was kidding!!!