[Elsa, comforting me after having my tooth extracted.]
If you have read this blog for any length of time, you are familiar with my dentophobia, that is, a strong fear of the dentist.
Let's see, there was the time I had my wisdom teeth extracted . . . and the painful tooth abscess . . . and of course, that horrific root canal experience a little over a year ago.
Let's see, there was the time I had my wisdom teeth extracted . . . and the painful tooth abscess . . . and of course, that horrific root canal experience a little over a year ago.
I just don't handle these things well.
So you can imagine the state I was in yesterday as I faced the dentist's chair yet again, this time to pull out a broken molar (remember the corn nut incident?). I was simply terrified. They agreed to do what is called conscious sedation. The dentist prescribed me two delightful little pills to take about 45 minutes prior to the extraction to make me nice and sleepy. They also gave me nitrous oxide. Believe it or not, this was my first time having nitrous - dare I admit how delightful it was? It swept me away to the beach of all places. I remember standing there and staring out at the ocean; so peaceful. Yet all the while, I was aware of the major pressure/cracking happening in my jaw. Wow, what an experience.
The good news is - I survived! I have had that extraction looming over me for months, what a relief to know that it is nothing more than a memory now; a memory that includes warm sand and the soft roar of the ocean. Maybe the dentists chair isn't so bad after all...
