Surrendering to the tooth fairy

On Friday night around 3am I was awakened by a tooth ache.

I had no time for this, especially this weekend with class on both Saturday and Sunday.

Throughout Saturday I was able to keep the pain at bay. I popped naproxen every four hours. It got me through the day and evening just fine. A couple cocktails in the evening and a little making out also helped take my mind off of the dull pain.

The pain returned, big time when I tried to sleep. I couldn't sleep laying down so I had to prop myself up with pillows to try sleeping up-right. I laid or um leaned there for some time before getting frustrated and taking a shot full of Nyquil (My savior "so you can rest medicine"). Luckily I was able to sleep through the night but the pain returned Sunday, more pill popping took place throughout the day during my class. I felt like I had to explain myself to the student sitting next to me. I'm really not a pill popper, I swear.

After class I phoned the dentist for real "so you can rest medicine" I was blessed with a prescription of Vicodin and some antibiotics. I slept beautifully and the pain vanished.

This morning I visited the dentist office after taking a morning dose of vicodin. The nurse greeted me with a concerned expression on her face. "How are you doing dear". "I feel great!" I said. When the dentist tried to have me pinpoint the troubled tooth, I couldn't. It didn't hurt anymore. He applied pressure to all the teeth but they all felt super; no pain. He had to examin the x-rays to determine or guess which tooth was the source of my pain.

My options: Continue on the antibiotics and see what happens, but the x-rays show at some point I will need a dreaded root canal. Option two would be to get the root canal over with.

Since I plan on resigning from work, at which point I'll lose my dental plan , I scheduled my very first root canal for tomorrow.

Once I came back from the dentist I didn't take another pill right away. I let the pain return and sure enough it was the tooth he pinpointed from the x-ray. I only had to touch it softly and it radiated with pain. I've since resumed the pain medicine and am very comfortable.

The procedure will be costing upwards of $2000. Thank goodness for my dental plan. I'll pay somewhere around $900 out of pocket. Right now I don't know which will hurt more, my wallet or my tooth?

Looking on the positive side of things, it's better that this happened now than when I have no insurance and am in another country, I am fortunate that I have money in savings to pay for the remainder of the bill, I like my dentist and did I mention, I'm thankful I have dental insurance.