You'll love this story...
I have very poor teeth, as do my siblings, inherited from my parents on both sides. I have had many root canals and many crowns in attempts to save my teeth, but I've had to have a lot of teeth pulled, too (in fact, another one will be pulled on Thursday...sigh...) And I've had a few get infected - we call them "blow-ups" - oh, my, the pain...
My excellent dentist has been with me for almost 40 years. He is the only reason I still have a tooth in my head. We have spent so many hours together that we know each other very well - he knows every tooth. And he knows that my pain threshold is very high - I can take most any pain (let's face it, with my teeth, I'm used to pain...sigh...)
But the worst was this one.
I had to have a root canal in an upper molar the day before we drove 400+ miles to visit my hubby's, then fiance's, family, many of whom I was meeting for the first time. I wanted so badly to make a good impression...oh, well...
And you guessed it, my root-canaled tooth "blew up."
So I called my dentist, after hours, in agony, hoping he'd sent me a codeine prescription so I could pick it up at a local pharmacy. He immediately called me back, and, knowing that if I told him that I was in agony, I wasn't kidding, agreed to call in the codeine prescription immediately. He also called in an antibiotic for me.
But he knows me so well that he went one step further. He told me to get a pick at the pharmacy or, lacking that, to grab a thick tapestry needle (which he knew I'd have with me, since I bring handwork to almost every dentist appointment for the long waits. Tapestry needles are thick and strong, but aren't as sharp as a sewing needle.) He then told me to pick out the temporary root canal filling, which is softer than the final filling (they usually put a temporary filling in in case the tooth became infected, and then put the final one in after they are sure that everything is all right.) He said that removing the filling would relive the pressure of the infection pressing against the nerve and I'd feel better immediately.
And he was right!!
I locked myself in my fiance's sister's bathroom and picked out that filling with my tapestry needle, and the relief from the pain was so immediate and so intense that I actually burst into tears. And I was careful what I ate for the rest of our trip and when we got back to our town in three days, my dentist disinfected the hole and repacked it again with another temporary filling, and everything went smoothly after that (if it hadn't, we'd have driven home right away!)
And bless them, my fiance's family didn't think I was weird...well, not too weird, anyway (grin!)
I love, love, love my dentist!
P.S. Disclaimer! Do not try this at home!
