I had a root canal done on my number 12 bicuspid today. Since it wasn't my first root canal I sort of knew what to expect. My usual dentist referred me to an endodontist because he said it may be complicated.
It started out well enough; he shot me up with novocaine and then left the room to see another patient. He said he'd be back in a few minutes. While he was gone I pondered the pain I was getting ready to experience and mentally prepared myself for it. I studied the palm-shaped grab handles on either side of the chair and wondered what they were for.
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He returned About 30 minutes later and went to work. "Raise your hand if you feel any pain." And then he started drilling.
All was well until he hit bottom; a bright light of pain exploded in my eyes as if someone had just popped a flash bulb in my face. Instantly I found out what the grab handles were for. I raised my hand. He stopped drilling.
"Did you feel that?"
I nodded.
"Here, let me give you another shot; this one is going straight into the tooth." My toes curled up and I squeezed the grab handles until my knuckles turned white as the needle penetrated the depths of my now open tooth.
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About an hour later he finished up as the last of the novocaine wore off. He wrote me a prescription for Vicoden and penicillin and I left. As I pulled out of the parking lot the pain went into maximum overdrive. While standing in line at the Fort Jackson pharmacy the pain hit a gut-wrenching level. After about 10 minutes I couldn't stand it any longer and headed for the nearest store which was a shoppette down the street. Just when I thought it couldn't hurt any worse the pain reached a new level of intensity; it literally took my breath away.
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All they had was Advil. I grabbed a bottle and stood in line to pay for it, the whole time doing a kind of writhing and pacing. Looking back I am sure I looked like someone who had to go to the bathroom real bad.
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Finally, I reached the cashier and cashed out. After swallowing two Advil I headed back to the pharmacy to finish filling my prescription. After about 20 minutes the Advil began to kick in and the pain settled down to a manageable throb.
I got my drugs and went back to work.
How did your root canal go?