Digging Another Canal

Possibly the last photo ever of Tooth No. 18, the lower back molar.
I am fond of No. 18 -- treated it like royalty as it has a crown
 (even though it came without a kingdom).

So the good news is, I need a root canal. Again. Same tooth. I guess you could call it a re-root canal. I'm not exactly sure how this works but am conjuring up images of the Panama Canal being built from 1880-1914. I sure hope my work doesn't take that long ....

The bad news is, I could lose my lower left molar if the re-root canal isn't successful. That means an implant, with lots of visits to new dentists on streets without signs and requests for insurance cards that have been lost for the last 11-1/2 months.

And a big dig in the back of my mouth. I'm not exactly sure how this works, but am conjuring up images of The Big Dig in Boston which lasted from 1991 to 2007, went way over budget, and included a tunnel and bridge. My mouth is way smaller than downtown Boston, but it still gets a lot of traffic ....

It's true I've had a root canal before and survived, but I'm just not looking forward to it. I remember my mouth feeling like a mining site gearing back up after blasting, strip-mining, an earthquake and flooding.

****

[Some time later]


So I've survived this procedure, which is called a root canal re-treatment. Maybe you are already familiar with it. The doctor worked quite fast but this is one stubborn tooth evidently so it took an hour. My mouth was open so long I began to feel sorry for that snake creature in the asteroid from 'The Empire Strikes Back' that the Millennium Falcon thought was a cave. Next visit Ima ask for some support beams ....

This re-treatment truly is a scary procedure because they put the tooth in a metal cage surrounded by a trampoline which covers my mouth opening. It reminds me of some mini-setup for extreme wrestling. But the part that disturbs me most is when the surgeon calls for The Explorer Tool.

Ok, I have never actually seen The Explorer Tool but it still strikes terror in my brain because I am aware that all kinds of disasters can befall in the name of exploration. Remember Magellan? Cortez? .... Also, The Explorer is followed by a series of Drillers -- they look like miniature corkscrews connected to a drill. I am afraid all the talk about drilling and exploring will lead to political candidates pestering me for a donation.


Mom, did you ever tell me my imagination was running wild??
 

Finally, the follow-up visit revealed the tooth may be fractured after all. The idea is to see if there's still infection in a month.

Until then, I am going to treat this tooth kindly, forsaking Laffy Taffy and other potential irritants.


*******

[One month later]

Well I've been steeling myself for bad news, which is I will be losing tooth No. 18. I need to make an appointment. Maybe in two weeks. I need more time for good-byes. The Tooth Fairy's probably backed up anyway ......














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