Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Revisiting the Root Canal


Dave and I bought these tulips at the farmer's market on Saturday. We needed a bit of spring color around here, and now they're livening up the windowsill in the kitchen. I love the combination of daylight from outside, yellow light from our overhead fixture and the pink flowers in that picture.

Yesterday was part two of my root canal saga. I went back to the dentist to get the job finished and the tooth sealed with a filling. As it turned out, he didn't put on a crown right away -- he said he wants to wait six months and make sure the root canal is sound.

It was an easier visit than the previous one, but I still had to get more Novocain and wear that rubber dental dam, and he had to re-drill the channels in the tooth because, when he probed them, I still felt some pain in one -- he thought he might have left a bit of nerve behind there. Remember how he had equipment problems on my previous visit, with his drill initially not working quite right? Well, the same thing happened again.

"Do you think we need a new one?" he asked the hygienist.

"YES!" I replied from the chair.

Anyway, he eventually got it fired up and all went well. Now I have a "provisional" filling, which is not meant to last forever but apparently will go a few years if need be. He said he would reassess when I come back for my regular checkup.

On the walk home, I picked up a couple of CDs from the "free stuff" pile outside the library. One is by a group called Tortoise and it's an interesting sort of mellow electronic rock. The other is a collaborative album between Sergio Mendes and an assortment of hip-hop artists, and I'm digging that one too, surprisingly. I'm usually not much of a hip-hop fan, but knowing these classic Mendes songs, I can appreciate this new take on them.

At work yesterday I spent time organizing our archive of old yearbooks. (Part of our continuing effort to clean out the conference room.) I realized with horror that someone has been cutting pictures out of many of them. Argh! Who DOES that?! (I think we know who, actually, and he means well -- but I don't want to publicly point fingers so I'll say no more.) I separated out the damaged ones and I think we'll lock up the others to protect them.

15 comments:

e said...

Glad the massage was helpful...

Elizabeth said...

Oh gosh. I hate dental things -- actually, I've never had any serious dental issues to date, but I even hate when they clean and FLOSS your teeth at regular check-ups.

37paddington said...

Glad that root canal is behind you! The flowers are lovely.

Yorkshire Pudding said...

Who cut the pictures from the yearbooks? I bet it was Dr Jack Phillips - sly fellow that he is!

Vivian said...

I am dying to know how a person who defaces a book "means well". I have done the same thing but I use the bits to make collages, and I use books that I have bought and paid for -- I would never cut up a communal book.

I like today's photo, but I like it even more now that I have your explanation of its two kinds of light. I would never have perceived that on my own. You think like a painter.

Ms. Moon said...

Sometimes it seems like one dental problem can go on forever before it's truly resolved, doesn't it?
Yes. They need a new drill.

ellen abbott said...

all my dental work is aging but I am loathe to go to the dentist.

Sharon said...

The tulips are gorgeous and the light is just perfect.

Red said...

With today's technology we don't have to cut out photos. Too bad this happened. All my yearbooks went to the local archives.

Anonymous said...

Love the photo and the light. After way too many years of experience with dentists, I would say protect that tooth as best you can if you're going to wait six months for the crown.

John Going Gently said...

Tulips bring a smile to you face...they are sweet flowers

Catalyst said...

I'll bet they chuckled when you yelled out "YES" from the dental chair. I love tulips and yours are truly fine.

jenny_o said...

The tulips are such a wonderful colour. I love the two little critters on the window sill - would you consider telling us about them? (Sorry if you already have and I missed it.)

It's good to wait and see if the tooth is stable before having the crown put on. I always want my dental work to just be done already, but teeth are so unpredictable that caution and watchful waiting is the best way. Hopefully their drill will be fixed for the next visit in case you need it!

The Bug said...

I love tulips! They're "our" flower - it's what Mike gets me when he gets me flowers.

e said...

Happy Valentine's Day to you, Dave and your charming dog!