The Whole Tooth, and nothing but the Tooth

It is said that April showers bring May flowers.

It is then asked, what do May flowers bring?  Answer: Pilgrims. :)

As April turned to May, a few things other than May flowers were brought to my attention.  

   First, a jury summons to Federal Court.  I was on the hook for two weeks, May 1 - May 15.  However, I just had to do a phone call-in every afternoon to see if I was selected to appear, rather than driving the 21 miles one-way to downtown and sit around for a day.  Not so bad.  [Actually, I have always found jury duty informative when I have been called.  Plus, I make $6 for my service.] 

   Second, I awoke early on Monday morning (1:26 AM) with a severe tooth ache.  It was an ice pick sticking from my gum up to just below my left I socket.  This event was much the less welcome than either April showers or May flowers.

What is the best time to see the dentist?

Answer: tooth-hurty

An emergency appointment got me in the dentist's door by 9:30.  By then the pain had much subsided, but obviously this tooth was acting up to try and get attention.  The dentist took a look and said, "I see a crack in your molar".  I denied I had an ice chewing habit when questioned.  So, they then sent in a small Chinese hygienist come and look in my mouth and scold me for the way I've brushed my teeth for the past 40 years.  OK.  I am a bad person and deserve to suffer for not flossing so often.

The recommendation was to see an endodontist for a root canal.  A root canal might get me out of jury duty.  I'd rather have jury duty.  But, I rather have a root canal job than end up in extreme pain again.  I check insurance and ended up at another dentist who had an endodontist that comes through his office once a month.  The endo would be able to see me on the 13th - two weeks out.  But, this time I got a bottle of amoxicillin.  I love that stuff.  Better living through chemistry!  This drug knock down the infection in my bone caused by a cracked tooth.

I was actually looking forward to the root canal.  The pain had come and gone over the course of two weeks.  Mostly gone, but when it came back, it was a mean molar sucker.

I guess with oil prices down to a multi-year low of $55 per barrel, I was glad to be part of some drilling.  She inspected the tooth and then let me know, there was a big bad crack in there.  The nerve was necrotic, the mandibular bone was infected and the surrounding nerves were inflamed causing the pain.  Besides, I have long roots, and this troublesome molar had grown into one of my sinuses.

She drilled a little way to see the extent of the crack.  It went all the way down she surmised, and thus she could not save the tooth with a root canal.  The whole tooth had to be extracted.  

The time the dentist had scheduled for me to be fitted with a crown after the root canal, was then used to yank this bad boy out.  He worked on that guy in the back of my upper jaw, saying he saw good movement, while I was thinking this hurts as he wiggles those big molar roots against my infected bone and sinus.  But then, he shouted, "Wow! That shot out of there like a rocket! It looks clean, no bone came out with it or anything."  I felt something land under my tongue at the front of my mouth.  It was whole tooth and nothing but the tooth.  With the tooth successfully launch, the dentist left me with his assistant.  I asked her, "Wur ith dat toot?" She speaks local anesthetic, and she said, "It's behind you."  I then told her, "Ay wuth luk toe keep it."  She wrapped it up in a little specimen package and told me to slip it into my pocket, and not to let anybody know I had it.

So, I am now pain free; and I think I need this new hole in my head like a real hole in my head.

I never did go to the court house to serve and hear testimony of the whole truth and nothing but the truth.  But I did ended up with the whole tooth and nothing but the tooth.  So help me God.

Tooth #15
The Whole Tooth

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.