Listening to the Voices in My Head

Two of my teeth hurt, but there's no rhyme or reason as to why. They've been cleaned, poked, prodded, xrayed, and all is well. They don't always hurt, but seem to hurt if I have ice cream. It's not because it's cold, because I can swish ice water all around the tooth, and even chew on ice cubes, and it's not the sweet/sugar because I noshed on some Skittles and it didn't faze my teeth. I brushed teeth and rinsed after the ice cream, and the ache didn't go away. Also, no reaction if I eat/drink something hot, unless the teeth are already sore, so the teeth aren't infected.

Two Nurofen and the pain goes away and doesn't return, so again, not an infection.

Bizarre.

Yesterday, had the filling drilled through (after numbing, of course) and sat through first step of a root canal. Dentist had a bit of a problem with one of the roots (a calcified cap), and after trying for a hour to clear it, he flushed it with anti-bacterial solution, then packed with with something specifically made to soften the cap, and allow for the rest to be removed later. Put a temporary filling in, and then went home.

I have to admit, I was feeling trepidation about pain returning. I don't know what it is about dental pain, but it seems to be less tolerable than pain in any other parts of the body. Luckily the only pain I had was residual from the procedure itself, rather than the nerve in the tooth. I do have to be careful about biting down on it, as the area is still sensitive. I should probably stick with soup until my jaw feel better.

Another thing: even though I intellectually know that modern dental procedures are more or less painless, there is an atavistic fear of dentistry. I have a great reason to be a bit skittish (even Dr C agreed I had every reason to be on edge after what some moron did to me years and years ago).

Having severe tooth pain, and making appointment is cause enough for anxiety. Confirming it, me making arrangements to get there, then you calling me to say 'Oops, that time was blocked out, can you wait until tomorrow?' isn't good. If I could have waited until tomorrow I wouldn't have called you this morning.

And then I tell you "I had to use Jack Daniels, and felt like biting pillow and screaming into it" , you then suddenly shift, find an opening, but earlier than the first Oops appointment isn't doing a damned thing to enhance my inner calm