"To the death." "No, to the pain."

I went to my dentist, who happens to be a friend from college, a couple of weeks ago for my regular check-up, and I mentioned that I thought I had another cavity. I had been noticing some sensitivity to cold foods for a few months and I wanted her to check it out. It turned out that an old cavity that had been filled about 20 years ago was the culprit, so we scheduled an appointment to remove the old filling and replace it with a new one.

So, a couple of weeks ago I went and had the filling replaced. When she removed the old filling she noticed some additional decay that had formed behind the old filling, so she did some drilling and cleaned it out before adding the new filling. She told me to stay away from crunchy foods for a couple of days, and being the good patient I am I did as I was told.

Last Tuesday we began a little weight loss challenge at work, so I decided to have a salad for lunch. I figured it had been a week since the filling had been replaced and I should be fine. Big mistake. I was in such agony that afternoon I thought I was going to break down in tears during a team meeting I was attending. Not good. So I called up my dentist and she wanted to see me right away. I went back and had an X-ray done. Apparently the new decay under the old filling was just enough that it was border-line for a root canal, and after trying the filling it was obvious that I needed to have one done instead.

So, after staying home from work yesterday because I was in such pain that I went back for prescription drugs that totally knocked me out, I am going in tomorrow to have the root canal done. I have never in my life looked forward to having a dental procedure performed more than I am this one. A couple of weeks later, after we make sure the root canal works, I'll have a crown put on. It could be worse - I could be doing this without any dental insurance.