So I’m back from the dentist. Actually, it was an endodontist. He was a pretty nice fellow, and I think he did a good job.
For those who don’t know what a root canal is (I didn’t), this diagram explains it pretty well. Basically they empty out your tooth. But not just the top part—that’d be just a filling—they have to go all the way down and file out the root(s), thus the name.
Anyways, it’s got a reputation for being really painful but it wasn’t that bad. I’ve had a bunch of fillings though so maybe I’m used to all the drilling. I still wouldn’t want to go through it again, but it’s not nearly as painful as how I felt a few days ago. The worst thing is, I’d say, the combination of the sound, smell and vibration. I had my eyes closed through the procedure, but the drilling has a distinct (and very unpleasant) sound, vibration (it kind of resonates through you) and smell (not sure if its particles or smoke or what). But the filing part was new and pretty weird, though not as bad as the drilling. It’s pretty much how it sounds (and looks, from the diagram). It doesn’t hurt but you can feel it scratching, and hear it too.
I’d say the worst part was actually the X-rays, which they took like 10 of because they had to keep checking if they got everything. They’ve got a lot of high tech stuff but X-ray technology is still really crude. For one, the slide holders are horribly designed. They’re hard yellow plastic that you have to bite on and then the sharp corners dig into the roof and floor of your mouth.
It hurt quite a bit afterwards, my guess is because all the commotion and vibrating aggravated the infection and swelling and stuff. But it’s supposed to get a lot better afterwards.
It’s still not entirely done yet, though. It looks like there’s a giant crater in the tooth, and apparently in a week or two I’ve got to go and get a crown. Why it’s called that I’m not sure, but it might be because it’s extremely expensive. Actually, from what I’m reading on wikipedia this whole thing is pretty expensive. Insurance covers part of it but the root canal by an endontist is like 1000 and then the crown is even more. Well, this’ll surely increase my net worth.
The local anesthesia is starting to wear off now and my lips are tingly.
PS: Wordpress developers, how hard would it be to add a damn auto-save. GMail has one. Or at least ask me “Are you sure you want to lose the post you spent an hour writing?”
Comments
This place isn't ALL about me — just mostly.
Julian Schrader
2 years, 11 months ago
My WordPress does auto-save every few minutes. I don’t think I added this feature through a plugin or the like.
Anand
2 years, 11 months ago
Hmm.. mine definitely doesn’t.
But then again this is a pretty old build. If they added that functionality in recently, that’s great! Does anyone else know for sure?
Julian Schrader
2 years, 11 months ago
I just checked it.
I’m using WP 2.1.3 and it definitely does auto-save.
Anand
2 years, 11 months ago
Ah I just tested it on a new build and it does.. It still leaves a lot to be desired, though.
In fact, I think I’ll start writing posts in GMail from now on.
neil
2 years, 11 months ago
what did you do to your tooth
rotaris
2 years, 10 months ago
Imagine undergoing a root canal without anesthesia…it makes me cringe just thinking about it. How’d you eat with ‘a crater in your mouth’? (i.e. before you went to get your crown)
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