Fractured

This I know to be true:

There is NO pain like dental pain. Seriously. I would rather go through childbirth again then have any dental pain.

The day we left for my mom's house, the entire left side of my mouth hurt. I felt like I had been clenching my teeth for HOURS and my jaw was throbbing.

Made it through the drive down......... barely. Continued on with the pain all weekend, set at a dull throb. Couple more days go by, and the pain worsens e-v-e-r-y night.

It finally reaches intolerable proportions Thursday night.

Friday morning, after I had cried myself to sleep the night before, I call every dentist in town. Wouldn't you know that most of them only work 4 days a week? And those 4 days DON'T include Friday?

Well, I found a Gentle Dentle location here in Mtown that was not only open, but who could squeeze me in at 930am. I drove my sorry butt down there, filled out the mountain of paperwork and waited for someone to see me.

As I got all lowered in to the chair, the waterworks started again. Ugh. I hate crying first of all, but second? In front of other people? Even better.

The dentist takes a look around, they take an xray and 20 minutes later I have a diagnosis. In the same back tooth, I have a fracture AND a huge cavity that is under an already filled cavity. Great.

So, they are going to take the old cavity out, take care of the new cavity and the fracture at the same time. Awesome. But what about right me now????? To say nothing about my blood pressure which is spiking through the roof from dental anxiety, little sleep and being in extreme pain.......... how am I going to make it to the next appointment?

Luckily, they give me a prescription for a little thing called Vicodan. Or which I like to call the happy pill. It makes me forget my mouth hurts.

So far, I have been able to make it all through the day on Ibuprofen alone and only take the happy pill at night. With the added night guard at night to prevent further grinding and clenching of my teeth, this system is working out pretty well.

I am scheduled for the procedure (or as I like to call it, mouth fishing) on the 17th. Wish me luck. I super hate the dentist. I am sure they are nice people and it's not personal. I am just positive that they are going to choke me one of these times with that stupid dental dam. I feel it in my bones.

Are you afraid of the dentist? If so, why?