Fun at the Dentist

I went to the dentist here in Urbana yesterday. I've had problems with a particular tooth for YEARS. It all started after I got a filling when I was about 16. Ever since then, that tooth has hurt on and off. I had two different dentists look at it, take X-rays, do all sorts of bite tests. No one could ever figure out what was wrong. I finally convinced myself that I was crazy and that the pain probably wasn't related to the filling at all. It must be just a coincidence. About four months ago, I woke up with a horrible pain in my jaw and was hardly able to open my mouth. I didn't have dental insurance at the time, so I decided to just wait it out. After a few days, the pain subsided to a manageable level. Since then, it's been hurting off and on. I decided it must be related to sinus pressure, since it seemed to get worse when my allergies were bad.

In June I got dental insurance, so I decided I'd get it checked out after we moved. I made the appointment and right after that my gum swelled up A LOT! Darby was shocked when he looked at it, as was the hygienist. The dentist here did 18 different x-rays, which is torture for me because my mouth is so small that it really hurts to bite down on those separator things. But, the x-ray clearly showed that the tooth that had a filling seven years ago was dead. So, I get to have a root canal next Wednesday! I'm not looking forward to that (the procedure itself and the cost), but I'm glad that I finally know what's wrong and hopefully I won't have any more problems. I just don't understand how two different dentists couldn't see that there was a problem earlier.