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Who Has Had A Root Canal?

Read more articles on Health and Let Me Share With You.

November 21, 2007

About This Editor: Karen has enjoyed her many varied experiences in corporate business management, dance education, and preschool assistance. She hopes to write about these past lives-and more-from her home in Pittsburgh, PA, where she lives with her husband, daughter, and 3 cats.

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Years ago, I worked with a gentleman who had a root canal; I still have distinct memories of his assuring the world that he would never, ever, under any circumstances, have another one in his lifetime. Perhaps he’d ignored his dental care for too long, or maybe his dentist was not that patient-oriented, but ever since, I’ve associated the term “root canal” with his story and all its misery. I’ve hoped that it would be something I’d never have to experience.

Guess what?

Actually, I may not really need one, but something is going on in my mouth and there’s a chance it may come to that; I’ll know in early January. (Won’t that make my holiday eating enjoyable?)

Let me tell you, first and foremost, that I am not just careful about my teeth-I am a Teeth Fanatic. I usually brush not 2, but 3 times a day. I floss almost daily. I see my dentist every 6 months and get regular diagnostic x-rays. I have had my gums scraped and planed; I wore braces as an adult, and I use whitening products. (Remember the dilemmas I shared “In Search of Pearly Whites” last November?)

Well, I had my usual cleaning and exam in September. My dentist advised the replacement of 4 of my old fillings, so I made an appointment to get them all done at the same time. (As long as there’s Novocain, I can bear just about anything.) Yesterday I was lying in the chair, mouth wide open, as my dentist prepared to apply the numbing solution. (This is one reason I just love her; in addition to giving lots of numbing solution, she keeps the needle cleverly hidden behind her back.) Anyway, no sooner does she lift my lip to get way back there with her q-tip, she stops and says, “Hmmm-I didn’t notice that before.” Now, these are not the most comforting words one want to hear from a doctor of any sort. She told me that she noticed “drainage” and needed to take an x-ray before proceeding. That done, I laid there for another 10 minutes and now worried not just about the horrendous aspect of 4 fillings needing to be drilled out of my mouth, but having an untold number of tooth roots yanked from their resting places…

Finally she returned with the news that the test was inconclusive. Since I have not been having pain in the area, she decided to remove that filling and then check manually, up through my tooth, to see the nerve/root/abscess whatever. But nothing could be determined that way, either. So she refilled the tooth, put me on an antibiotic, and said if the drainage is still there in 6 weeks, she’ll put a hole through the new filling and get up into the roots that way. Oh, joy.

Plus, I still need to have 2 more fillings drilled out and replaced. You see, my being there for an hour and half jeopardized other patients’ schedules and I couldn’t stay to get everything else done. So I have the whole mouth-numbing process to look forward to at the very least. This should not be happening to a Teeth Fanatic.

The scary thing is that I’ve had no pain and no symptoms. If I hadn’t gone for filling replacement, whatever it is could have become dangerously worse.

So, this Teeth Fanatic encourages you to make that procrastinated dentist appointment soon. True, such a visit isn’t what anyone would call pleasant, but it beats the alternative of having mouth pain or losing teeth. I have a strong gagging reflex and I despise that scraping of the cleaning instruments and that vibration of the drill in my mouth, but if I can take it, so can you. You’ll be glad you did…when you leave.