I’ve been dealing with a toothache since March 3. At first it was intermittent and then about a week ago it had grown consistent enough for me to be worried and call the emergency number for my dentist (since no one is in the office I think it is his personal cell number). It was never SUPER painful, but once it was consistent it was distracting and giving me anxiety, and every now and then something would trigger a pain spike and it would take a long time to come down to the baseline.
He listened to my symptoms and said he was pretty sure that I had a dead/dying nerve in my tooth and that based on what I had told him I would need a root canal.
I cried.
But I took the antibiotic he prescribed and after 3 days texted him to let him know that while the tooth still hurt the antibiotic had helped the average amount of pain I was in. So he referred me over to an endodontist, and they were able to get me in almost immediately. I had to leave work in the middle of the day and drive an hour to get there, and then pay $416 up front as my copay...
But the room I was in had a lovely view over the river and everyone was professional and kind. They offered me water, they had headphone and an old iPod with pandora on it so I could listen to music instead of the drilling. They were able to quickly and effectively numb me, I did not feel a thing the entire procedure and it didn’t take as long as I thought it would. I’d say it was a better experience than my average filling.
I’m glad it over. My jaw is tender but that is to be expected. Mentally I feel way better knowing what I am feeling is healing pain rather than something is wrong pain.
Honestly the worst part is that I had been thinking about what I could do with my stimulus money, who I could help... and now I have to save it and wait until I know how much I am going to owe after my dental insurance takes a look at the bill.
