So I got to the dentist, and they instantly sensed my anxiety. I thought I was masking it quite well, but those people? They are TRAINED. Everyone was reassuring.
Then we went back & I discovered I was only getting a temporary crown. Not the permanent crown. But I had waited for this appointment because we had to wait for the lab to MAKE my crown, and it turns out that was a miscommunication between the back (where the facts are, ma’am) and the front (where the calendar is kept). What was probably (in retrospect) the funniest part of all was my insistence and carefully worded questions all in an attempt to steer today’s procedure to the permanent crown and why I believed I was getting it even though no permanent crown exists (yet) and this was why I was here, and I KNEW this was correct, and I realized that I was starting to sound like I was headed down the path of telling them what the dentistry procedures would be and then I shut up, because I have a degree in Studio Art. And in the end, they have the big metal needle.
Now, I will say that my dentist is the master of administering Novocaine. It was a rapid progression from “normal” to “can’t feel anything”. But later, when the tooth grinding & shaping was taking place, I became acutely aware that one shot of Novocaine is technically not enough for this procedure, but in addition to getting a degree in Studio Art, I also attended my father’s School Of Being A Dentistry Patient, in that he had a great tolerance for pain and it was a celebrated area of study. I once got a cavity filled with no Novocaine. So as my dentist ground chunks of tooth, spraying enamel and bone and a lovely burning smell in my mouth, I toughed it the hell out. It’s difficult to yell “Mother Fucker!!!!” with three gloved hands in your mouth, anyway. We had a small review of the procedure and my pain level, and I could tell he desperately wanted to administer an additional shot, because hey, dentistry has a bad rap as it is, and what good doctor wants to inflict pain? It’s not like we were doing a sequel to the Marathon Man or anything. But I was raised to tolerate pain to a point if it means getting something over with faster. So I communicated that and went into stoic mode. Apparently that also includes extraordinary muscle tensing in my arms because I am as sore as if I’d lifted weights for two hours, instead of lying in a chair for about the same amount of time.
So. The numbness is wearing off, which is good, and the temporary crown feels weird, the texture of it doesn’t match my other teeth. And I go back in 2 & a half weeks. There’s a chance I won’t need another numbing shot & you can bet I’ll be striving to avoid one! (Within reason, of course.) Let the weekend begin! I’m thinking a shot of something ELSE might be in order soon…. :)