Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Let The Sleeping Beast Alone!

As suggested by Blogger, I tried the new format. I do not care for it. I found everything except how to put a new post on. Kind of important. I just switched back to this format and I will look at it again when I can give it my full attention ..... maybe.

My computer refuses to download the pictures from my phone. I have some really good pictures of Bo and company I wanted to share. Bo is growing at  an alarming rate. Puppies eat a lot and poop a lot. He has probably tripled in size and no longer has the soft round body of a puppy. Meaning he weighs between 3 and 4 lbs. Not big at all, he just looks so lean. Like a fat baby learns to walk and all of a sudden the baby isn't round anymore. He is starting to grow some Yorkie whiskers on his face.

One side of the face is growing faster than the other side, so he looks a little like he might have a tooth infection on one side. He doesn't of course. I do. Have a tooth issue. I had been ignoring it through the quarantine, knowing I would have to deal with it eventually. The pain was just occasional and seemed to disappear overnight.

Then last week, I woke to a throbbing mess of a mouth. The entire left side of my jaw hurt. From , the tip of my nose to the middle of my chin, then forming a triangle of agony back to my ear. Even my inner ear sent out stabs of pain. I succumbed to the pain and made an appointment with my dentist. I couldn't even tell them which tooth it was. They all hurt at that point.

The night before the appointment I dreamed that it was ALL my teeth on the left side and he pulled them all. I guess that would make my nocturnal movie a nightmare. I still have my lower wisdom teeth. Having lost a molar on each side in my teens, the wisdom tooth had plenty of room. The upper wisdom teeth have been removed. I only have one upper molar with a crown and the lower molar and wisdom tooth both have fillings.

I was prepared to have him yank it out. I was, in fact, looking forward to the bite of the needle that would numb the pain. That should tell you how miserable I was as I waited my turn in my vehicle to have my temperature taken, then be escorted through the back door, like some illegal abortion of my mouth was about to occur.

But, no numbing, just blasts of cold air and cold water, then X-rays to find the offending tooth. The dentist, a nice young man, advised against extraction.  He suggested a root canal and another crown. He gave me a referral to an Endodontist. Where was the old man dentist with all his bag of tricks, like jiggling my cheek when he pushed the needle in? I don't know if I trust this very young dentist! Where is my pain relief I long for?

I have an appointment for the 24th of this month. I just dutifully swallowed my last dose of antibiotics and looked longingly at the bottle of Vicodin. From the day of my visit to day of the root canal is 26 days. He gave me 16 Vicodin with instructions to take one every 6 hours, with a dose of Ibuprophen at the 3 hour mark.

Do the math, this is a mere 5 day supply of pain management. How am I supposed to control the pain for that long? I absolutely had to take one after the visit. All the prodding and poking along with blasts of cold air and water really woke that tooth up. I have been popping those pills in half and only taking them when the pain makes me want to scream. Yesterday  and today have been okay. But I am so careful with food and beverages, protecting that tooth lest I wake it up!

7 comments:

ellen abbott said...

since when do dentists need to send you to a specialist for a root canal? I've had plenty due to an accident in my teens that involved my teeth and I never went to a specialist.

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

I hate teeth problems nearly as much as dentists just saying

Kathy G said...

I'm a pansy when it comes to any type of mouth pain, so I can't imagine what you're going through. Can you get some oil of clove and apply it to the sore spot? I'm sure the limited amount of pain medicine is due to people becoming addicted to them.

Joanne Noragon said...

Oh my word. I've spent three days ignoring a toothache, but have a "squeeze you in" appointment tomorrow. Why us?

claudia said...

I remember when dentists did the dental work. Now it seems that they are just diagnosticians. My earlier root canals were done by the dentist, who was also an excellent craftsman and made his own crowns. My young dentist referred me to an endodontist for a root canal and when I needed an extraction I was referred to an oral surgeon. Do they even do fillings? - I don't know. I am looking for a new dentist that does the work so that I don’t have to go all over town and make new appointments. Maybe all of those dentists have retired but I am still searching

Val said...

I am not fond of dentists. The last time I went (as an adult), I chose the kid dentist of the practice. That's because I needed one that would use nitrous oxide (laughing gas), since I'm so afraid of dentists. The canister of laughing gas was decorated as a CLOWN! I imagine some of the kids begged for the adult dentist, because they feared the clown parked in the entrance to the work spaces.

River said...

You may not need the pain pills to last long, if the antibiotics clear the infection, the pain will most likely subside too. That's what happened with mine anyway. I still have the unused pain pills locked away, three years later. The root canal still needs redoing, I get a twinge from it now and again, but it hasn't become infected again. Yet. most dentists here will do a root canal, but I prefer an endodontist who will do the whole thing in one visit. A regular dentist will clean out the nerve then put in a temporary filling, which necessitates a return visit for the permanent filling.