Second part of root canal done

Today I had to be at the dentist for two hours, while he completed the second part of the root canal on my upper molar. I saw the other dentist in the practice, as he is more experienced in root canal procedures.

The dentist wanted to give me the anaesthetic needle without giving me a topical anaesthetic first, but I wasn't prepared for that and I asked for it and he obliged. He put the needle with the anaesthetic very slowly and steadily and I felt nothing while he was inserting it into my gum. Sometimes I have felt pain when the needle goes in, but this time was pretty good.

He had to remove the temporary filling and other material that the first dentist used and then file away the three chambers where the root of the tooth was formerly housed (which got infected and inflamed previously and had to be removed in the first appointment.

He used some interesting drills, which were whirring away slowly, aimed I guess, at removing any pulp and other diseased material in the chambers.

The root chambers of the tooth were cleaned out - when he first took out the temporary filling, it smelt of decay and wasn't pleasant, but it was not nearly as bad as when I had the first part of the root canal. Cleaning out the root chambers ensured that all decayed (and useless) material was removed and this means it should be good.

Once the root chambers were all cleaned out, dry and ready, he added a filling to the tooth.

I have to get a porcelain crown on the tooth, to strengthen it, but not yet - in a few months.

He also told me that the tooth would be a little sore for the next 4-5 days, due to the work that was done on it today, but it would settle down. I started to feel a slight bit of discomfort, very slightly just at the end of the treatment, when he was affixing the filling and the drill bit touched the side of my tooth for a fraction of a second, but it wasn't painful by any means, it just felt like brief uncomfortable pressure.

I am so glad to have finally found a dental practice which takes my pain sensations seriously and anaesthetises my nerves so that I don't feel pain.  And, their assistants are really lovely and unjudgemental. It's nice to finally find a dentist practice like that!

I didn't even get really scared or freaked out about the dental appointment today, whereas normally, for a few days prior to a dental appointment, I start stressing quite a lot. So that, says a lot about these two dentists - they really are patient and caring and listen to their patients!

I have finally found a dentist I can trust and who I can go to on a regular basis for maintaining the health of my teeth.

Really bad toothache from a chipped filling

I have a big chip in one of my fillings near one of my top molar teeth. I haven't had anyone look at it because I always get a lot of pain when I got to the dentist, even if they use the strong anaesthetic. I have realised it is because of my sinusitis that when the drill starts vibrating on the upper teeth, this is especially painful as it reverberates in my sinuses, which are really close to the roots of my teeth (basic anatomy) and then that causes pain in my teeth, more than would normally be felt. I only realised it when one dentist was working on my upper teeth and I was experiencing pain and discomfort, even with the anaesthetic. Yet when he drilled a tiny bit off the bottom of one tooth, there was no pain and he didn't even use anaesthetic. He was perplexed, but it was only after I left that I realised why.

So today, my upper pre-molar tooth is hurting me so badly, it feels like the nerve is pinched and that is a really horribly painful feeling - the pain feels like it's ululating and the whole of the right side of my jaw, both upper and lower teeth are feeling a referred pain! That's pretty painful, to say the least.

I didn't have anything to numb the pain, so I had to go out to the supermarket to get some cloves - they are the first aid to any dental pain, as they help to numb the gums and teeth and reduce the level of pain. They are really efficient and have been used for centuries to numb the mouth. Clove oil is also used for the same purpose.

I used two cloves at a time for about 15 minutes each, keeping them in place with my tongue in the position where I wanted them to stay.  The relief from the pain was almost instant. It was incredibly gratifying to have no pain, simply due to a little, humble flower bud from a spice.

The pain is now bearable, but it comes and goes. Hopefully I can get to sleep tonight. I don't have any cloves in my mouth now and it is so painful! So maybe it may not be easy to sleep tonight.