Leaving the house to go to the dentist was a very difficult thing to do. On the bus, I tried to bury my face in a book and forget that I was going to the dentist. Perhaps, I thought, if I would just read, I could forget where I was going to. It didn’t work. I couldn’t concentrate on what I was reading.
As I got off the bus, and walked up to the train, the nerves started to hit me harder. I walks as slowly as a child walking to school on the first day back from the summer holidays. I could feel the fight or flight instinct kicking in. By the time I got to the dentist, internally I was a mess. Nervous as hell (terrified would be more like it). Breaking out in a nervous sweat. Hands shaking. Yes, I know how cowardly I must be sounding right now, but I’m not going to pretend that I was suddenly overcome by a sense of bravery. Not a bit. It took everything I had not to get up and run away.
When I finally got in to see the dentist, I was told that the solution to the problem was pretty much a root canal. I had to make a decision then and there whether to go ahead and have the root canal then or come back tomorrow for one. I chose the immediate option, because I honestly didn’t think that if I had to make the trip to the dentist again, that I would be able to do it. So, I was warned how long it could take (at the shortest: 2 hours), and we began.
Although my mouth was frozen, I have to say that this was one of the most excrutiating experiences of my life. A lot of it was psychological, yes, but when it was all over, my face still felt like it was used as a punching bag. And that was while still frozen.
The actual process took 3 hours for the root canal and filling. I have been advised that down the road I will need to ge the tooth capped, but that wasn’t a priority at the time. That’s something for down the road.
I still cannot feel my face. It is still frozen. I am told that when the freezing wears off, I will be in “some discomfort”. Exactly what that means, I will find out.
I don’t know yet if I will be able to talk tomorrow. Or even in a couple of hours. Hell, at the moment, i can’t talk without sounding like I have a handicap.
I’ll update again, when I found out just how much discomfort “some discomfort” is.
