I wanted to say no. But there have been several occasions over the past year where I woke up with my jaw throbbing and had to take a pain killer to get back to sleep. And this time they showed me the x-rays. And they assured me that the procedure was relatively painless these days. The last thing I wanted was to be away from home and need emergency dental work. Best to fix it at home.
I went in last Thursday at 8:30 am. No gas, no general anesthesia - just plain old Novocain. (I understand that the numbing agent we all know as Novocain has really been something else for 30 odd years - but you know the stuff I'm talking about.)
They were doing one of my back teeth. Number 30 to those in the know. The hardest part was keeping my mouth open wide enough for them to work all the way in the back. About halfway through, they broke out a little gadget called a bite rest that allowed me to relax the other side of my mouth.
When it was all over and the crown had been repaired, my dentist asked "Was that so bad?" I had to admit that it wasn't as bad as I'd expected. But then again, I was numb from the top of my head to my chin and the numbness extended past my right ear. What did I know? Before I left they had me take two tylenol - just to head off any pain.
I was fine, really. This root canal business had obviously been trumped up to be far worse than it actually was. I ran a few errands before going home. I didn't feel much like eating. I think I could have managed some soup, but we didn't have anything other than golden mushroom. I cook with that one - I don't eat it. I painted the wrought iron railing at the front of the house. I was touching up the paint on a bench in the back yard when I started to feel a bit queasy. I told Mark I was going to go rest for a while. (Something he thought I should have been doing from the moment I got home.)
Rest wasn't helping. My mouth was quickly becoming one raw, throbbing nerve. It was obvious to me that they had drilled into every tooth I had and left all of the nerves exposed. Over the counter pain killers did not help. I had not experienced this kind of pain since giving birth to a child. (I think this was worse.) I thought that maybe if I shot myself in the foot it might take my mind off the pain in my mouth. Mark called the dentist's office to see if something stronger could be prescribed. As it turns out, it could, but it would probably make me sick.
I had a conversation with the dentist about what I could take. What happened to those good old-fashioned pain killers like Percodan and Darvon? Why is the only thing available Hydrocodone? It makes me extremely sick. Do I really want to puke when every nerve in my mouth is exposed? No, I don't think I do. We settled on some acetaminophen with codeine. I've taken codeine before without getting sick. But not this time. After throwing up I don't know how I managed to sleep, but I did. The next morning it didn't hurt nearly as bad as it did the night before. Perhaps I'd been a bit melodramatic on Thursday. Clearly, I was not going to die. We drove to Oklahoma City to see the twins sing at the Arts Festival. I wasn't feeling too bad, but I had to be careful what I ate. If something was going to go into my mouth, it had to be on a fork or a spoon. I wasn't able to bite down on anything. But Friday was better than Thursday.
Then we got to Saturday. Teeth that weren't even worked on were now throbbing. Using spoons and forks was painful. Now I know what is meant by the expression "sets my teeth on edge". My teeth were on edge and so was I. Things like that really ruin your mood. I'd decided not to risk taking any more codeine and besides, I'd left it at home. Advil was completely ineffective, but by Sunday it was a bit better, although still not great.
Now it's Monday and it's somewhat better. But I'll tell you this: the next time my dentist says I need a root canal, the answer will be no. I'm not having it. Never again!
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