(Not really, because it’s pretty disgusting, but I figured it would be an appropriate title for today’s entry–ha!)

So yeah, today I had my first root canal. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been prone to cavities and all kinds of dental work. Today one of those cavities finally caught up with me. Over a year ago, I had to have an old filling replaced because it was already passed its prime. When my dentist removed the old filling, he discovered even more tooth decay beneath it. The larger, new filling ended up reaching the tooth nerve which meant it was only a matter of time before the nerve would die and then I would need a root canal.

After putting it off and putting it off, I finally scheduled my appointment for the root canal after my dental hygienist twisted my arm before I left my last cleaning appointment. I decided then I would schedule it at the earliest possible hour just so I could get it over with and have the rest of the day to either nurse my poor mouth and/or sleep. In fact, the sun wasn’t even up this morning by the time I was already in my car on my way to my dentist’s office.

The root canal treatment itself wasn’t as bad as most people make it out to be. In fact, if you can tolerate a filling (or several) then you can probably tolerate a root canal. Honestly it was just like a much more intense filling. Except that one part during the procedure when he took that pointy file and started scraping out the nerve insides. Oh yeah, it was graphic.

Luckily though, he said it was a standard root canal–no surprises. Needless to say, despite how non-scary it was, I would try to avoid it if not for my own comfort, then at least for my own wallet. It was NOT cheap.