Just got home from KC. It is after 8:00. It has been a long day. The drive to KC was OK but it was foggy or light rain most of the way and the fog got denser as I got closer to KC. Hit traffic between Olathe and I435. I had left about 20 minutes early and got there about 5 minutes early.
The root canal went well. I liked the dentist and his assistant. They were very aware of my reaction during the whole procedure and kept checking in with me to make sure I was handling everything.
He had to test the life of the nerves in the tooth with a cold liquid of some sort. I about shot out of the chair when he hit the hot spot.
My tooth had a weird root structure. He said he had never seen one like it before. He had to do something a bit different to make sure it was cleaned out correctly. Not sure I understand what was different but he tried to explain it to me. He gives it an 80% chance of healing and survival. 20% chance of needing to have the tooth pulled. Most procedures he does have a 95% chance of doing well.
It took him about 30 minutes longer than expected to do the procedure due to the weird root structure of my tooth. At one point he had to add some numbing medication but otherwise it was good. He recommended I continue taking 3 – 4 Ibuprofen every four hours for at least the next 24 hours. He said the pain might be worse before it gets better. If it isn’t better by next Monday I will have to go back to see him.
The drive home was long. I came out of the office feeling a bit disoriented. It was very foggy and I had never been to this office before and had no idea where I was at. Thank heavens for GPS. Managed to find my way out of the parking lot and headed home. The fog was really dense for the first half of the trip. The fog gradually lifted and then I drove through a light to moderate rain. When I hit the Chase County line it was dry and clear.
When I got home I was able to pull into the garage! Thanks Jaque and Mike for your efforts yesterday to make that happen. It was a sweet way to end a long day.
I have a meeting to go to tomorrow night but we shall see what happens. If I am in lots of pain tomorrow I won’t be able to go. I have some homework to do before the meeting. Fingers crossed I will feel like doing it tomorrow morning. Didn’t feel like I could do it this morning.
Once I know the pain is under control and all is well I need to call and get a hair cut and oil change on my calendar. I have hesitated to book those before I knew what was happening with the tooth. Both are overdue and badly needed. I will need to get some dog food next time I go to town. Need to remember to take the chicken feed I got earlier this week out of my car now that I can park in the garage again.
Need to find something rather soft to eat for dinner. The numbness is wearing off and it feels almost safe to eat now. It has been several days since I have been able to eat much and I am hungry! Not sure what I have to eat but I will find something soon.
When I got home the dogs followed me inside. They seem to want to become house dogs now. Not sure how long I will be able to stand that though. It is to warm up next week and maybe they will decide to go back outside where they belong.
Four trips to KC in four weeks is too many! I haven’t been to KC that often for a long time. Three of the four trips were not fun trips. Hoping I won’t have to go back for a bit now.
Need to call the window installers tomorrow and let them know the snow has melted off the roof of the house. They need to come install the last two windows. Next week looks like it will be a good week for them to come finish up that job.
I’m tired tonight. I think I will find something to eat and go to bed early. The trip to KC wore me out today. Sure have my fingers and toes crossed that the recovery will go smoothly and this little episode is behind me now.
Grateful for a compassionate dentist and assistant today, grateful for a safe trip to and from KC, and grateful to park in the garage tonight.