Current Mood: Ugh

This morning I got a root canal for my left bottom molar, which had splintered on the back side a few weeks back.  For those of you who are cringing, the procedure itself is painless.  The dentist wouldn’t start unless I was completely numbed from the Novocaine.  There was some discomfort from the needle she used to put in the freezing so I guess it’s not completely painless, but the, uh, rooting was.

The whole thing took 2 hours! The drilling didn’t take long, but I swear she took an hour just dredging up the pulp from the roots.  I’m happy with her attention to detail, as even a microgram of leftover nerve would have left me in agony after the freezing wore off.  For those who aren’t familiar with root canals there is information here.

I was feeling some deep bone pain as feeling started to come back so I popped the Ibuprofen and antiinflammatories the dentist prescribed.  Lara tells me my temperature is up, which makes sense.  My body’s trying to recover from some trauma.

Right now it’s a dull ache, slightly better than my worst day after the tooth splintered.  I have a temporary cap and will be getting the crown put on in a week-and-a-half.

Cost of root canal:  $1,600.  My medical will pay for half.  Cha-ching! Take care of your teeth, boys and girls!