The Canal's of Life...

I wish I was writing of my adventures to far off lands to visit the wonders of a "canal" system. The Panama Canal or even the beauty of the Royal Canal in Ireland would be more glorious than the events of today: a root canal.

As I had the time to ponder how I got myself to this point in my dental history, I find it very ironic that I work in a business that encourages "maintenance" and my lack of maintenance has led me to an expensive and painful end. Maintaining a vehicle will help insure its' longevity and will definitely aid in avoiding costly internal repairs. The dentist is most definitely one of the places I never want to go. I brush twice daily and rinse...figuring that is enough. Since my dentist retired three years ago, I haven't taken the time or made the effort to find a new dentist...until I HAD to. About six months ago I broke a tooth. No big deal, I thought, I'll just chew on the other side of my mouth. This solution worked great, until I broke a tooth on the other side of my mouth. Oh well, I will just have to be careful and avoid hard foods and nuts. I'll be fine. (Yeah right). This only lasted for about three weeks before the pain of chewing yogurt even hurt.

I had the initial "consult" and found out the unbelievable news that I would have to have two root canals, one on each tooth that I had broke. Today was the day...for two hours, the dentist drilled, scraped, and mined out the roots of my broken teeth. With the taste of bleach in my mouth and the smell of burning gum...the procedure was over and I was left with a completely numb mouth---both sides.

I think the hardest part of the entire day was the four hours afterward of not being able to speak clearly. With grunts and head gestures --- hand waving and even the occasional drool coming from my mouth, I had the hardest time communicating. Those of you that know me know how I love to talk. ;-)

Two dental visits down and two to go...the most painful part is over, at least until the bills come in.