Why I hate the dentist

Mama Kat's assignment this week was to write about your worst experience at the dentist. Just thinking about it makes my face hurt.

If you take anything from this story, take this: The difference between having a root canal performed by a dentist vs. having a root canal performed by an endodontist is hard to put into words. It's the difference between drinking an ice tea or drinking a Long Island ice tea.

Simple terms. Dentist + root canal = torture!

Our story begins with incredible pain, the ability to chew limited and anything colder than the inside of your mouth intolerable.

Seeking immediate help, I call off work and go to the dentist. Knowing that I'm in pain, the first thing the dentist does is tap on the tooth in question.

Why do they do this?

I learn that I'm going to need a root canal and a crown. This also means I may need a bank loan.

For those of you who have never had a cavity (I'm talking to my husband) or have never had the pleasure of a root canal, let me elaborate.

First, there is a lot of Novocaine involved. A lot.

Second, there is an incredible amount of drilling. A tooth being drilled smells odd. The tooth becomes a little tiny nub, just big enough to glue on your fake molar.

Then there are these little wires that get shoved down into the root. I mean aren't you just cringing thinking about it.

Finally, after hours of torture you get measured for a permanent crown and fitted with a temporary crown and sent home to become un numb and to find out just how bad this all really hurts.

Imagine my dismay when I came to realize that my tooth still hurt.

How? You ask.

"Looks like we root canaled the wrong tooth. They must have both been affected by the abscess. I don't think you are going to feel better until we get this other one taken care of," said the Dentist.

This is how I came to know an endodontist, simply because he has never uttered the above sentence.