Unhappy Molar

This is a big time bummer, but I'm having dental issues during our vacation. Boy, talk about bad timing, though I have to confess, I may have some issues to bring up with my previous dentist. I'd be remiss if I didn't admit that I am to blame, as well. A few years back my dentist retired and I simply continued going to his replacement. He is a really cool guy, and I liked him, but he did two fillings on my molars and both molars have suffered some negative consequences. With the first one I experienced incredible pain for a couple of days and then it went away. I figured that was the end of it when a few weeks later I was eating tortilla chips and the tooth cracked. I couldn't believe it, but what was even more amazing was that it didn't hurt. Not one bit. I deduced that when I was feeling the incredible pain, and believe me when I tell you it was excruciating, my tooth was in the process of dying. Once the pain subsided, I think the tooth was finished, so it didn't hurt when it cracked.

Now, the other tooth is going through some serious pain. The kind that feels like your head is in a vice, just non-stop throbbing. It's been bothering me off and on for a couple of weeks, and for full disclosure, my current dentist, TS, has been telling me that the filling needs to be redone for upwards of a year. I put it off for two visits and now I guess I'm paying the price for it. Foolish me.

At the beginning of our trip it was hurting pretty bad and then it went away. I emailed TS and he said as long as it's not bleeding, swelling, or hurting, then wait until I go in to see him, which will be next week. Since I'm in LA I figured that in an emergency I could find a good dentist, but would prefer to go to my hometown guy.

Well, last night the pain came back, and it was a total bummer. I'm almost ready to go to a dentist and just have the thing pulled, but we don't want to be too brash about something like our teeth, right?

We'll see how this goes. As long as it doesn't hurt I think I can deal, though I'm not sure how much more of whining my family can take.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Richard Anderson for the pic.

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