The Tooth from Hell

My very boring Ortho experience got rather interesting about a week ago. However, it had nothing to do with orthodontics. I spend a great deal of time picking my teeth as I watch tv simply because I am completely paranoid that the 1mm of plaque that I may have missed is keeping my teeth from moving all that much faster. So last weekend I picked and picked and accidentally stabbed what I thought was one of my gums. It felt a little sensitive but nothing to talk about. Somehow, the next day...... anytime I drank anything cold , I got a shooting pain in the tooth (not the gum). Things went rapidly downhill from there to the point where I could not put any liquid in my mouth without a straw. Stragely enough when I chewed food I felt nothing. It soon occured to me that all my picking could have shifted one of my fillings to the point where liquids were just able to seep in and hit the nerve.

I immediately called my dentist who managed to see me between appointments. She reminded me that she had told me I would need a root canal on that tooth eventually. I however did not think eventually meant 4 months!! She indicated that if I had a non symptomatic tooth (i.e a tooth where the nerve was dead and I felt no pain) I could have postponed the procedure indefinitely. Unfortunately because the nerve is very much alive and cause severe pain, its gotta be done now. That lovely procedure will set me back $3750!!! Ok, so I have insurance, but still , to find that to put out in one shot is a problem. She said I could pay half and half but I hate owing anyone. Even worse, I could not get an appointment as they are booked solid. So until my pain becomes constant and unbearable and they are forced to schedule me an emergency appointment , I have to wait. I was concerned that I would have to remove my archwire to do the procedure but she says she can work around it.

Even stranger, after drinking from a straw for a week, I realised that I was again able to move liquid in my mouth when I should not be able to.Hmmm, so I sucked it up and took a drink the normal way and low and behold...no pain. So I dunno if the nerve died on me or if my filling just dropped back into place after a few nights of aggressive grinding in my sleep but it no longer hurts. I wonder if I can get out of that root canal now?

I can't help but be bitter with the ortho I initially consulted who after doing xrays told me I had no cavity in the troublesome tooth (which I specifically enquired about) although there was a crater in it. If it was big enough for me to feel it with my tongue, it was big enough to see on an xray. It was only because I was never in pain that I did not double check it with a dentist. All ofthis could have been avoided and I think it is sad that I need a root canal (maybe two!) at my age. And this is even with me always brushing my teeth. I was just alway slack with the flossing. I will see what happens with that tooth and how long I can avoid this root canal.