What Was The Dentist Doing In Panama?

Answer: Looking for the Root Canal!

This morning I faced my second dentist. I arrived early and realized I had forgotten my chap stick at home. I knew I would regret that later.

I remembered to tell the dental assistant and the dentist (I should learn his name) about needing extra Lidocaine. He injected my mouth several times and then I was left alone to allow the medicine to take effect. Have you ever felt your chin when it's numbed? I giggled outloud. It felt like someone had attached a theatrical add on mold over my own chin. The numbness traveled on my left side all the way up to my ear. The right side didn't go as far because I would only have one filling on that side.

I remember pleading with God throughout the ordeal that I not feel any pain and that it would be over quickly. Well, at least He listened to the first part. The Lidocaine worked. I felt pressure but no pain. I could smell the smoke from the drill, I could taste the numbing jell still in my mouth and I was uncomfortable but no pain.

Once the drilling started I found myself breathing through my mouth instead of my nose. I focused on inhaling through my nose but I couldn't exhale that way. At times I felt like I couldn't exhale as much as I was inhaling. My breathing wasn't normal. I closed my eyes as much as possible.

I want to photoshop a fun background to this picture as use it as a Halloween card.

You know that light dentists use that shines over your face while they are working? Well I saw that there were initials or some brand name on the face of it: TPC. I focused on those letters and made a game out of it. Here are some phrases I thought of:

Ten Per Cent

Teal Peach Charcoal

The Perfect Child

Again the dentist told me several times to relax my tongue. I replied that I could hardly feel it let alone control it. As he was finishing up he told me he got my tongue while doing a filling. I told him it was fine. That's what pain killers are for! 

Polishing, flossing and it was finally over! Overall it wasn't as bad as last time. My mouth was still horribly numb and I was embarrassed for anyone to see it though I looked at myself in the car mirror and realized that no one could probably tell. It wasn't even 11am as I was driving home but I had skipped breakfast so I stopped and got food on the way home. 

Eating was not possible yet. I was slowly and carefully able to drink my smoothie. I could control my top lip but not the bottom one. It took two more hours for the numbness to go away and even then it hurt to chew. I had bought alcohol to help with the pain but I soon realized that the sores on my tongue didn't care for alcohol. I ate ice cream and took pain killers instead.

I don't have to see the dentist again until January!