today i had a root canal, which is a misnomer. it's specifically "root canal treatment". the root canal itself is a part of your body, so saying you're going to the endodontist to get a root canal is like saying you're going to the orthopaedist to get an ankle. you're going to get a root canal treatment.
so, anyway, today i had a root canal. i'd never had one, so i didn't know what to expect. i had the impression that a root canal was a terrifying and laborious procedure that required several days' recovery. everyone i talked to assured me they had come a long way and it just wasn't like that anymore.
here's what it was like.
got up at the normal time despite needing to leave the house about 45 minutes later. this allowed me the luxury of an extra cup of coffee followed by scrambling madly because i was running late. when i change timing in the morning, it's a challenge to get out the door on time. am i ever ready early? hahahaha. ha. haha.
i used google maps to help me find the place because i didn't recognize the street name. it wasn't far from home and i learned about a new street, so that was cool. i got there right on time.
check-in was simple. they had all my info from a past visit. even thought it was like four years ago, nothing on my records had changed. easy medical office check-in is the benefit of leading a boring life.
within 10 or so mins, they were calling me back. they had to retake some x-rays even though the dentist just took some on tuesday. fine. whatevs.
the doc came in and i was like, um, scusi? here's this barrel chested guy with a pony tail, looks like he just got off a harley or came in from a round of lumberjacking.
so he asks me what's up and i go through my Tooth Tale, and as i am really getting into the whole thing, i see impatience flash across his face. um, scusi? talking about my teeth here, big guy. but i try to wrap it up because bottom line, we all know what the problem is.
a root canal treatment is required when the tooth has died. it's very sad and i didn't even have a funeral for it, but my tooth had died. tooth death comes down to nerve decay... the nerve withers and the decaying nerve tissue becomes a pile of rotting pulp in the root canal.
in. the. root. canal.
the root canal is a tunnel in the tooth where the nerve lives like a worm in a tube. so, when the nerve dies, there's nowhere for it to go and it just sits there in the canal, rotting. in my case, the rot had started to leak out the side of my gum in the form of a fistula. if you think that's disgusting, you probably can't stomach how long this went on while i denied it was a problem.
so.
dead worm in a tube. how do you get it out? turns out endodontists use cleaning tools that look a lot like miniaturized bottle brushes. they drill a hole in the top of the tooth or (in my case) crown, reach in and scrub down the root canals (two roots per tooth, two canals) with these tiny little pipe cleaners. up down up down up down in a motion that is making my head nod like a puppet, the motorcycle lumberjack is reaming out my tooth.
during processes such as this, i practice calming techniques. constantly policing my face, neck, shoulder muscles and demading they relax. smoothing out my breathing. calmmmmm.... calmmmmm.
i got so calm i fell asleep.
fell asleep with my jaw propped open and a burly pony-tailed man's hands in my mouth.
fell asleep so hard my arm reflexively jerked, causing doctor lumberjack to think he'd hurt me.
haha.
you can't hurt me, lumberjack. i'm asleep.
through a series of grunts, i communicated that i was fine. he carried on and completed the procedure. my mouth and jaw remained numb for several hours, and ibuprofen is my friend.
any questions?
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