You Are Dead To Me

Two days ago, I went to the dentist for the first time in more than 5 years. Now, before anyone starts in on the dentist lectures...DON'T. I am not afraid of the dentist or anything, I just didn't have insurance and money has been tight. Well, we finally got dental insurance and I scheduled my appointment for this last Tuesday. I was just going in for a cleaning, but I also had a tooth that has been bothering me for a while (since January), that I wanted them to take a look at. Usually when this tooth would hurt it would just hurt for like an hour or so, maybe once a month. But the last couple of days the pain would not go away. The air from the fan in our room even hurt it. 

So, my cleaning went well...and the hygienist told me I had very nice teeth...blah blah blah. Then they X-rayed my one tooth (number 26, it's a frontish tooth on the bottom). There was no cavity, or anything and the X-ray looked good. But the dentist wanted to do further testing because it was slightly discolored (just slightly, like maybe one shade not as pearly white as the rest of my teeth, okay). So, he used this very handy air blowing tool and blew some air on a tooth that we knew was good...nothing happened. Then he did the same thing on my bad tooth...and, um, yeah...that hurt. Next he sticks this giant metal hook on my cheek like he was going fishing or something. He said something about "grounding me" and I was like "yeah, whatever. Just do what you gotta do and get the hook off of my face." I had no idea what he was about to do...but next thing I know he had  stuck something else in my mouth, and made me yelp out in pain as he apparently electrocuted one of my good teeth. I mean, why does he have to go and do something like that to a perfectly good tooth, one that isn't discolored, one that isn't causing me any pain. At this point I need all the teeth I can get. So, I asked him, "what the heck was that?!" Then he explains to me what he is doing and that if my other tooth is dead then I shouldn't be able to feel what I felt on my good tooth, when he does that to my bad tooth. 

Next thing I know that thingy is going back in my mouth on my very sensitive, very hurty, very tender tooth. And.....NOTHING. Nothing happened, I felt nothing. "What does this mean?" I asked the dentist after he removed the giant fish hook from my face. "This means your tooth is dead." I told him that "my tooth has so much more life to live, why did it have to die at such a young age? There are so many more great meals to eat, so many new tastes to try, so many more apples to bite into. Why did it have to be poor little ole' number 26? I mean what did it ever do to anyone?" He had no explanation except that "sometimes these things just happen". 

So, my number 26 tooth decided that it would just give up hope. It had no fight left. Apparently it was sick of being the only slightly crooked tooth in my mouth and it couldn't handle the other teeth taunting it. But now it will never know what it's missing. So, yesterday I went  back in for a root canal (my first), and the dentist removed number 26's painful little infected root, and now all that remains is a shell of tooth that once lead a glorious life in line with all it's other fellow teeth. The pain is gone now, but so is the soul of number 26. 

R.I.P number 26, rest in peace.