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Wednesday, June 06, 2007On Endodontists and JellybeansIt's true. Yesterday morning, I had a root canal. Not that I couldn't think of anything more enjoyable to do on a lovely Tuesday. It's just that, over the weekend, this horrendous abscess appeared in my mouth. It was...alien. And dreadfully painful. I'll spare you the details. So when I saw my kindly dentist on Monday, he took an X-ray and immediately referred me to an endodontist. Okay, I'll admit it -- I'd never heard the word before yesterday. "Periodontist" and "orthodontist," yes. But endodontist was new to me. I'm not sure who in their right mind would choose to make a living by performing root canals all day, but there you have it. So I had the procedure done, no big deal. Well, yes, it was a big deal, financially speaking. Insurance only pays half. And suffice it to say that I could buy six weeks of groceries for the full price of one root canal. I feel awful about that. But I digress. So there I was, all numbed up on one side, hopping into the van for my next appointment, which was to see my midwife. That's not a big deal either, except for the fact that I had to eat eighteen jellybeans on the way. My glucose tolerance test was scheduled for 1:00, and those delightful jellybeans were my own preference, instead of the nasty, thick, orange, gaggy stuff they usually make you drink. I was very happy when my midwife okayed the jellybeans. That, of course, was before I knew I was going to have a root canal right before the blood draw. I opened the pre-counted bag of jellybeans, placed it on my lap, and reached in for the first jellybean. Chew. Chew. Chew. Careful only to chew on the left side, as far away from the fresh root canal as possible. Chew. Chew. Check for drool. Chew. Swallow. Reach for bean number two. All the way through the bag, all eighteen jellybeans. Yep. I did it. I ate eighteen jellybeans less than an hour after a root canal. And nothing broke or fell off or produced a searing pain in my skull. I checked in five minutes early for my appointment. No one was at the window when I arrived, so I was unable to remind them that I was all tanked up on jellybeans and ready for the needle. You guessed it. Within the next ten minutes, the office suddenly became crowded. I was called back twenty one minutes past my scheduled appointment time. "Were you given some orange drink when you got here?" said the nurse-who-left-her-personality-at-home. "No, I ate eighteen jellybeans before I got here." "Urr, what time did you eat them?" She was already looking as though she were ready to accuse me of something. I wasn't going to let her go there. "Urr, you all are running a little late. I finished eating them at 12:05." "What time is it?" (Why was it suddenly my responsibility to know what time it was?) "It's 1:21," Eric piped. Handy, those cell phones. "Oh, it's too late now," said the dispassionate nurse. "If it's more than ten minutes past an hour, the test will be inaccurate." Right. I had just left-side-chewed eighteen jellybeans while driving a van after a root canal, and now she was telling me that I couldn't have the blood test. Fortunately, I adore my midwife and was able to make light of it the moment she entered the room. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to eat eighteen jellybeans all over again before my next visit, scheduled for the first week of July. Hopefully, it won't be after another root canal. And that was my Tuesday. And no, I'm not particularly fond of jellybeans. Especially now. |
About Me
I am: Mother to five stunningly individualistic children... Writer of young adult fantasy... Passionate advocate for Women At Home... Madly in love with my husband... In need of Organic Gourmet Chocolate on a regular basis. I've got a Paypal account if you'd like to contribute to the cause....
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13of my readers are feeling chatty:
Jelly Beans are nasty. I would have sucked down the drink!
Awww! That sucks!
Hope all goes according to plan next time.:)
Is there some science behind having exactly 18 jellybeans? How come not twenty?
You're a brave soul. I had a butterscotch shake after having my wisdom teeth pulled. It...uh, wasn't pretty.
Couldn't they have had you gag some of the goo to make up for their delay. It would make sense that the jelly beans would still have some strength. But what do I know?
Hey! a jelly bean!
Oh and eek about the root canal. Not a happy thing.
Oh!
Ow!
You mean stuff-that-requires-a-root-canal can just suddenly happen??
How about if you floss? Does it just happen like that if you floss?
I never floss... I think I'll start now.
Better the jelly beans again than that nasty orange stuff! Blech!
Hiya, Thomas!! It's 18 because that number contains the correct amount of sugar grams for the blood test. And they have to be the big, full-sized jellybeans (like Brachs), not the tiny gourmet ones.
Dave, if I had gagged down goo, I would have had to sit there for an entire hour until the blood draw, plus I probably would have gone into sugar shock by then. :)
Kerrie, no, they don't just "suddenly happen," though it certainly appears that way! Both my dentist and my endodontist asked me if I had ever suffered trauma to my teeth on that side. And actually, when I was 8 years old, I had a QUACK dentist who, upon discovering a painless lump on the upper gum (RIGHT in the same area of my current problem), decided that he would give me 4 shots of Novacaine and CUT THE LUMP OPEN WITH A SMALL SCISSORS. :| My mother, who was in the room with me, ran out and threw up in the bathroom when she saw the rush of blood coming from my mouth. My endodontist explained that the QUACK dentist (okay, my word, not his) probably damaged the teeth on that side. I actually now have 2 teeth side by side there, both of which are root-canaled. I think I may need therapy for this!!!
So the damage was done, and it was just a disaster waiting to happen. All it takes is one little bacterium to get into the damaged area, and wham! Infection, pus, and pain.
Oy.
There are two things in life I've always been nervous about - ingrown toenails and root canals. I'm with Kerrie - I've always wondered what makes them happen.
You poor, poor woman. I just had to do my glucose test a few weeks ago and it stunk. I can't IMAGINE doing it after a root canal. You were far more gracious at the office than I would have been. I would have been a gauze-spitting, table pounding mad woman.
Good luck at your next test and I hope you are healing.
lol Kerrie!
Goodness!! Sorry Jill! Praying it goes better next time.
O_O Isn't there a saying that hell is where you get root canals the whole day, every day? :( ... Stoopid nurse...
Ahhhhh!!!!
I'm with your mother, I'm going to throw up now.
Ooh, I wonder if I've had any childhood trauma to my teeth.. See, this is what happens when you've never had so much as a cavity filled, I have an irrational fear of that future day when my dental luck finally runs out! 8^P
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