I had braces as a kid and have had my wisdom teeth removed. I thought that I understood mouth pain and that others who complain about having a tooth ache just had a lower pain tolerance. Boy, was I wrong.
In January (2010), I went to my dentist for a routine cleaning and he found a couple cavities, which he filled. One of them was on tooth 8 (front, right, incisor). On the x-ray and exploration, the cavity didn’t seem too bad, but when he drilled it, he found it was actually pretty deep. On went some medicine to try and heal the tooth/nerve area, and then the filling. He told me the tooth could either get better on its own, or end up decaying, resulting in the need for a root canal. I had sensitivity in the tooth for quite some time and on my follow-up cleaning in June, another cavity was found next to where the original was. Again, the same procedure was repeated and I was sent on my way.
Fast forward to the start of October, and I noticed that I didn’t quite have the sensitivity in my front tooth anymore. I was pretty pumped up until about a week later when that same tooth started sending wave after wave of pain up through my sinus cavity to behind my right eye. I then thought back to the lack of sensitivity and realized the nerve inside my tooth probably died and I was feeling the process of my tooth starting to enter necrosis. Unfortunately this was a Sunday and I was supposed to catch a plane to Sacramento for a field survey Monday and Tuesday, so I couldn’t schedule an appointment with my dentist until Thursday. For four nights I tossed and turned, trying to get sleep only to feel a shooting pain in my mouth. The only relief came from alternating Tylenol and Advil to dull the pain. I even went out and bought Orajel, which had no effect other than making my tongue numb. I changed my return flight from Friday evening and flew back to Portland Thursday morning for my appointment. My dentist proceeded to confirm my suspicion of needing a root canal and scheduled it immediately the next morning, while putting me on antibiotics to help with the possible infection in my tooth.
The procedure took about two hours and I was able to head into work for a few hours and drove up to Seattle right after. However, I still need follow up appointments with a periodontist to discuss bone loss around my front incisors, which is causing those teeth to be loose. This is partially due to the orthodontic work I had done as a kid, the infection causing my root canal, and genetics. I think it’s about time I gave up soda pop, or maybe think about getting some dentures. Take care of your teeth! =)
