I had a root canal done on my number 12 bicuspid today. Since it wasn't my first root canal I sort of knew what to expect. My usual dentist referred me to an endodontist because he said it may be complicated.
It started out well enough; he shot me up with novocaine and then left the room to see another patient. He said he'd be back in a few minutes. While he was gone I pondered the pain I was getting ready to experience and mentally prepared myself for it. I studied the palm-shaped grab handles on either side of the chair and wondered what they were for.
He returned About 30 minutes later and went to work. "Raise your hand if you feel any pain." And then he started drilling.
All was well until he hit bottom; a bright light of pain exploded in my eyes as if someone had just popped a flash bulb in my face. Instantly I found out what the grab handles were for. I raised my hand. He stopped drilling.
"Did you feel that?"
I nodded.
"Here, let me give you another shot; this one is going straight into the tooth." My toes curled up and I squeezed the grab handles until my knuckles turned white as the needle penetrated the depths of my now open tooth.
About an hour later he finished up as the last of the novocaine wore off. He wrote me a prescription for Vicoden and penicillin and I left. As I pulled out of the parking lot the pain went into maximum overdrive. While standing in line at the Fort Jackson pharmacy the pain hit a gut-wrenching level. After about 10 minutes I couldn't stand it any longer and headed for the nearest store which was a shoppette down the street. Just when I thought it couldn't hurt any worse the pain reached a new level of intensity; it literally took my breath away.
All they had was Advil. I grabbed a bottle and stood in line to pay for it, the whole time doing a kind of writhing and pacing. Looking back I am sure I looked like someone who had to go to the bathroom real bad.
Finally, I reached the cashier and cashed out. After swallowing two Advil I headed back to the pharmacy to finish filling my prescription. After about 20 minutes the Advil began to kick in and the pain settled down to a manageable throb.
I got my drugs and went back to work.
How did your root canal go?