Friday, 04 November, 2005
Put down by a toothache
I went to the dentist yesterday. My teeth had been unusually sensitive for the last 10 days or so, and Wednesday evening I noticed that one in particular was becoming quite painful. The dentist took an x-ray, looked around, and found that the tooth is cracked. The pain was mostly from the infection that had been building. He gave me a prescription for antibiotics and pain killers, and sent me on my way after making an appointment for me to come visit again next Friday.
Antibiotics don't work instantly, though. By the time I got home and finished fixing the fence where Charlie had been crawling under recently, I was in considerable pain. I spent the rest of yesterday on the couch--watching Star Trek on DVD (Debra bought me the first season as a birthday present last week) and drugged up on painkillers. Not that the medications did much for the pain. I've experienced quite a number of unpleasant sensations, and an abcessed tooth is by far the most intense and unmanageable pain of which I'm aware. I finally crawled in bed at about 11:00 with a bag of ice resting on my cheek.
The dentist told me that I would be uncomfortable for "a couple of days," so I was quite surprised when I woke up this morning and the toothache was almost gone. I managed to get a little bit of work done, although I did spend a lot of time on the couch trying to catch up on the sleep I'd missed the last two nights. Late this evening as I write this, I'm feeling reasonably normal. I can actually chew food on that side of my mouth again.
I know that a lot of people are afraid of, or at least very uncomfortable, visiting the dentist. I just don't understand that. It's not on my top list of fun things to do but other than my semi-annual teeth cleaning, visiting the dentist is much preferable than the alternative. A root canal is uncomfortable and expensive (especially without dental insurance), but a toothache is excrutiating.