The trip to San Diego the second time was not something I looked forward to. In the hotel room, I kept waking up the night prior to the day of my appointment. A lot of things were popping in my mind. Of course, I am terrified at the thought of losing some key teeth that are responsible for chewing my food. But what matters most to me now is my health and had I known that keeping my tooth would have ill effects in my body, I would have chosen other option. You see dentists don’t warn you about the dangers of root canals or they are not aware of it. Or they choose to believe that the procedure is safe and we take their word for it.

I am also worried about the pain associated with root canal removal. A month ago, my lower mouth didn’t respond to Novocaine that well and so I felt a deep sharp pain when my tooth was being extracted. That terrified me! Also, since my 2 year-old bridge had to be taken out, the thought of it scared me as last time I had it removed, there was so much hammering involved and if my brain could just talk, it would have yelled at the dentist, STOP! I have been through so much with dentist and with the removal of my infected root canals, I am hoping that I will require lesser dental work in the future. That is my ultimate goal and to incorporate a 99% sugar-free and refined-food-free to my current diet.

Fortunately, the removal of my 2 other root canals in my upper left mouth went pretty easy. Thank goodness! Despite the heavy Novocaine I was under, I could feel when a tooth was about ready to come loose. With the previous three root canal extractions though, my teeth gave a pretty good fight as if they didn’t want to come off, and some deep discomfort – reason why I was terrified and anxious with my second trip to the dentist.

Then to my surprise, they didn’t bleed as much as the other three which made my dentist a little concerned. He said the tooth towards the back of my mouth was infected and created a hole through my sinus and with inadequate bleeding, it could possibly create a dry socket and he didn’t want it to happen. He wanted it to bleed to promote the formation of a blood clot to fill up the hole that the root canal had created due to an infection. And I didn’t have a slightest clue that this was happening inside of me except that I had recurring lumps and tumor in my breast in spite of a healthy stellar diet I am on. I also had experienced other ailments like excruciating pain in my left abdomen once that required a trip to Urgent Care, floaters in eyes, severe forgetfulness, etc. All the while, I thought my new root canals that were done by a dentist in Payson, probably just about 2 years old, were fine. Tsk tsk!

So, he put me under observation for an hour in his office while he attended to my husband’s mouth. He had 3 amalgam fillings removed. He also discovered that one of his tooth that came off on its own a year ago left a bone in the jaw and was not detected by a regular dentist through x-ray here in Payson. So, the dentist needs to get it out on our next appointment, probably early next year or whenever we find time.

An hour later, while my Novocaine was starting to wear off, he saw me again in his office, and this time, he spent time bleeding the extraction site on one tooth by applying some pressure on it and thank God, he successfully bled it – a must for healing.

Right now, I have to be really extra careful with my extraction sites. I can’t sneeze or cough or drink through a straw to avoid creating a dry socket from extraction sites while everything is raw. Thank goodness, I opted to stay home and so I avoid the allergens at work that seem to get people sneeze quite easily.

Also, I am keeping a careful watch of my lingering pain in my left waistline that travels below my shoulder blade that has kept me from doing several activities like weeding and sitting for a long period of time. The longest time I can weed in my yard is half an hour and after that, I will be in so much pain. When I deliver mail in my truck, I have to prop a pillow in my lower back to alleviate the discomfort. The last time it hurt profusely, it left me almost immobile and thankfully, it only lasted for a short while. If my pain disappears, I’d definitely attribute it to the removal of root canals. Let’s see.

I saved my 5 root canaled teeth in case I decide to write a journal to show to people who are interested.

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