Current mood:

sore

Five things you never want to hear from your endodontist, as little wisps of smoke are drifting up from your mouth:

"... filling's pressing against the live nerve..."

"... lot of dead tissue irritating the live tissue..."

"That root's bleeding a lot! Still!"

"... severe inflammation..."

"Wow, these are really deep roots!"

All this while working on the very last molar in my jaw, which is starting to cramp from being held open so wide for so long with two hands and four instruments crammed into it... Then to tell me (quite cheerfully) that it was no wonder it throbbed so much, especially when I lay down, since there was a 'lot of bleeding inside the tooth' and he expected I'd been in 'severe pain' for awhile with it. Given that I nearly passed out just from the preliminary exam, when I got up to go from the X-ray chair to the Drilling chair (scaring the crap out of his nurse), this shouldn't have been a surprise. That cold stuff they use to see if you have a bad root is N*A*S*T*Y!

Now, blessedly pain free (although really, the four shots of jaw-numbing cocktail he jabbed me with helped right away with that - and man, are those big needles), scrips for pain and anti-inflammatory meds filled and dutifully taken, jaw feeling like I've been socked but with no more need to strap an ice pack to my face in order to try to sleep, I am HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY that I have dental insurance and a bloody good endodontist.

Even if I wish he would stop muttering scary things under his breath whilst trying to dislocate my jaw... er, do my root canal.

Next week, I get to go back and see if the molar next to it (root canal done in 1986) will have to have its crown pried off and the root canal redone. Lovely. They had to re-do the X rays four times to get this one pictured (so far back in the corner of my jaw I gagged every - damned - time). So glad I'm not working or writing this weekend. I plan to stay drugged all the way through it; that will take care of the inflammation and the stressed jaw/gums/angry tooth.

On an up note, I passed my candidacy interview, got all the profs I wanted on my prelim thesis committee (and the one I really wanted to lead it agreed!) and when my brain is less scrambled I'll begin on my prospectus. They liked my idea too (WOOT!). Entering the home stretch!

falling into bed now.