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Tooth pain jaw tooth ache pain ow ow tooth jaw pain tooth ear tooth ow pain pain ow ow argh sharp shooting pain ow tooth sharp pain ear jaw tooth ow argh ow ow ow ow OW OWWWW OOOWWWWWWWWWW tooth jaw pain ow argh ow ow tooth pain jaw shoot electric nerves pain throb pain ow ow tooth jaw pain ow ow argh sharp shooting pain ow tooth sharp pain ear jaw tooth ow argh ow ow ow ow OW OWWWW OOOWWWWWWWWWW tooth jaw pain ow jaw tooth ache pain ow ow tooth jaw pain tooth.
That's pretty much what's been going on in my head since Saturday morning. On Friday I actually started to take ibuprofen all day, but that was working. By the weekend, it wasn't. I've been on a constant cocktail of various amounts or combinations or alternating pain relievers, both over-the-counter and not, and frankly, they were only working half the time, or maybe they were working all the time but half the time the pain would have been even more unbearable. It did wax and wane, but it got to the point that the wane was still a fairly bad dull ache. I feel like the last three days have been a blur.
Luckily the dental office had a cancellation and had me come in at 11 am today, where I had a pulpectomy. Which is the extraction of the tooth pulp and inflamed nerve end. Which might sound upsetting, but honestly it felt like an orgasm. I had been in pain for so long, that I was fantasizing about the novacain shot. (Which they did several of.) Then they pulled it out and "put medicine in it" and I'll have to go back for the full root canal, but I no longer have a Hot Tooth. (Their term, not mine.)
Afterwards, I was seriously high. Post-pain euphoria in this really intense and fun way. I went shopping and nearly got overstimulated by all the choices and fabrics and styles. The rain was beautiful and not a nuisance. I had no pain! I kept clamping my jaw and teeth together, which in hindsight, wasn't maybe the best thing. Because now, seven hours later, the numbness has finally fully disappeared and I'm achey and sore. From having a raw inflamed nerve yanked and burned out. But! The opening narrative is no longer playing in my head, so I'm a-ok.
When I first went to my dentist and described my symptoms, he said I had three choices: 1) extraction; 2) pulpectomy (and later a full root canal); 3) nothing. I was really confused that my choices were so radically different. I made him tell me what to do, and he recommended 2, he said he prefers always trying to save the tooth, which sounded ok with me, since I certainly wasn't going to do nothing and having a big gaping hole in my mouth didn't sound too appealing either, especially given my recent introduction to the term and condition "dry socket". He said that sometimes inflamed nerves do just heal themselves, so people ride it out with antibiotics and pain pills. When he said he could give me vicodin and I'd already tried it and it did practically nothing to the pain, I voted off that option.
I was greatly amused that my procedure involved the use of a dental dam. He showed it to me beforehand to explain how it works and it was hard to keep my mouth shut. Speaking of dirty minds, during the entire procedure I had my arms locked down onto the arm rest. And he was scooted right up against me doing the work, so that his entire thigh was against my forearm, my elbow was near his package, and his chest was pressed against my tricep. It was terribly soothing to my freaked-out, altered state.
Also, we listed to Eric Clapton Unplugged album during the entire hour of the procedure. It doesn't really get more dental-office-soft-rock-soothing than that.
That's pretty much what's been going on in my head since Saturday morning. On Friday I actually started to take ibuprofen all day, but that was working. By the weekend, it wasn't. I've been on a constant cocktail of various amounts or combinations or alternating pain relievers, both over-the-counter and not, and frankly, they were only working half the time, or maybe they were working all the time but half the time the pain would have been even more unbearable. It did wax and wane, but it got to the point that the wane was still a fairly bad dull ache. I feel like the last three days have been a blur.
Luckily the dental office had a cancellation and had me come in at 11 am today, where I had a pulpectomy. Which is the extraction of the tooth pulp and inflamed nerve end. Which might sound upsetting, but honestly it felt like an orgasm. I had been in pain for so long, that I was fantasizing about the novacain shot. (Which they did several of.) Then they pulled it out and "put medicine in it" and I'll have to go back for the full root canal, but I no longer have a Hot Tooth. (Their term, not mine.)
Afterwards, I was seriously high. Post-pain euphoria in this really intense and fun way. I went shopping and nearly got overstimulated by all the choices and fabrics and styles. The rain was beautiful and not a nuisance. I had no pain! I kept clamping my jaw and teeth together, which in hindsight, wasn't maybe the best thing. Because now, seven hours later, the numbness has finally fully disappeared and I'm achey and sore. From having a raw inflamed nerve yanked and burned out. But! The opening narrative is no longer playing in my head, so I'm a-ok.
When I first went to my dentist and described my symptoms, he said I had three choices: 1) extraction; 2) pulpectomy (and later a full root canal); 3) nothing. I was really confused that my choices were so radically different. I made him tell me what to do, and he recommended 2, he said he prefers always trying to save the tooth, which sounded ok with me, since I certainly wasn't going to do nothing and having a big gaping hole in my mouth didn't sound too appealing either, especially given my recent introduction to the term and condition "dry socket". He said that sometimes inflamed nerves do just heal themselves, so people ride it out with antibiotics and pain pills. When he said he could give me vicodin and I'd already tried it and it did practically nothing to the pain, I voted off that option.
I was greatly amused that my procedure involved the use of a dental dam. He showed it to me beforehand to explain how it works and it was hard to keep my mouth shut. Speaking of dirty minds, during the entire procedure I had my arms locked down onto the arm rest. And he was scooted right up against me doing the work, so that his entire thigh was against my forearm, my elbow was near his package, and his chest was pressed against my tricep. It was terribly soothing to my freaked-out, altered state.
Also, we listed to Eric Clapton Unplugged album during the entire hour of the procedure. It doesn't really get more dental-office-soft-rock-soothing than that.
