The drill of dental work, the agony of the teeth

Oh, thank God! Just as I started typing this, the hydrocodone started kicking in. My tooth is feeling much better already... But you'll forgive me if I go astray.

On Thursday I had a temporary crown put on one of my molars. While he was working, the dentist told me he was very close to the nerve and I may have trouble with it.

Friday morning, I was in his office asking if the pain was normal. He wasn't in yet so I discussed it with him about an hour later when he called me. We decided it could be post-procedure irritation. He called in a couple of prescriptions and told me to keep an eye on it. I was taking two Tylenol about every 3 hours.

Saturday came and the three hours stretched into 6-8 hours. Things were getting better. Maybe it was just irritation.

By Sunday evening, I filled the prescriptions. I started taking the antibiotic and the hydrocodone. At 4am Monday, I decided I wasn't going to make it into work. At 8am Monday, I called his office and set an appointment for the afternoon. I hung up the phone, took another antibiotic and painkiller, then went to sleep.

Just before my appointment, I took regular Tylenol and another antibiotic and had lunch. The Dr. tapped and prodded the tooth a bit but, since I didn't jump out of the chair using my butt muscles, he didn't do anything at that point.

He told me to stop taking the antibiotic. Sensing my confusion, he explained, with the help of some handy dental graphics, that the antibiotic would clear up the infection at the base (prongs) of the tooth, giving relief, but wouldn't be able to reach the source of the problem.

Unfortunately, my 2am pain is speaking two words to me... Root canal.

ouch.