All I Ever Really Needed to Know, I Learned From My Root Canal

BY: Lisa Menghi

After years of dodging the root canal bullet, my time had finally come. At first I was terrified -- I?d always thought that I wouldn?t wish a root canal on my worst enemy. But, believe it or not, it really wasn?t that bad. (I can honestly say that I?m rethinking what I wouldn?t wish on my worst enemy now.) In fact, my root canal did more than save my sweet tooth: It reaffirmed four important life lessons.

1. Trust your instincts.
   I nervously brought up the idea of a root canal to my dentist when every sip of my much-needed morning coffee was followed by a painful zinging in the back of my mouth. My dentist insisted that I wasn?t in enough pain to need a root canal, so I let him convince me to try a crown. But even with the crown, the pain continued so much that another indulgence was suddenly in jeopardy. When I closed the freezer door in the face of my old friend, Haagen-Dazs, I knew it was time to face my fears and get the root canal done.
2. Only work with pros.
   When my crown didn?t work, my dentist suggested that I see an endodontist. At first, I resisted because I really didn?t want to have another appointment -- across town no less -- with someone else. But eventually, I realized I had no choice. And I?m glad I went: The endodontist was very thorough and even discovered a small, second root growing that she could address right then.

3. Communication is key.
   I had a lot of anxiety going into my root canal, which I confessed to the endodontist. She had no problem stopping her work to give me another shot of numbing medication. I used hand signals several times and moaned too as backup. For someone like me who has the gift of gab, not being able to speak was almost as scary as the actual procedure, so the hand signals were a great way to let her know that something was wrong.

4. There is always a silver lining.
   Sure, it?s no fun to eat soft foods and chew on the other side of your mouth for weeks on end after the procedure. When I shared my miseries with my husband, he responded like a good newlywed should -- with mashed potatoes and homemade soup. And as I soon discovered, having a root canal is a great way to shed a few pounds. (Too bad my husband ended up losing more weight than I did, though. Ugh -- men.) The root-canal diet might be a bit unconventional, but hey, maybe it could be the next hot weight-loss trend!

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Source: http://www.oralcareandhealthdaily.com/blog/root_canal/index.html

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