It’s been almost a month since one of my fillings fell out and still it’s not all sorted out, but at least we’re making some progress.

The actual root canal procedure itself was not particularly painful, though it did take a long time and I think a squeamish person would be upset by the force required.

Apparently my tooth is unusual in that it has four canals rather than three, and also that they curve almost horizontally. This meant that when the little wire thingy was pushed down the canals to clear out the nerve pulp, the dentist had to really apply a lot of pressure before it would bend around the curve and get all the way. I felt like my jaw was going to be dislocated.

The image here is of how my tooth is now; the top has been all drilled off and a big lump of plastic temporary crown covers it. Next week I should have the proper crown put on.

I wasn’t really intending on spending my Christmas bonus on dental work, but hey, at least I am lucky enough to have a Christmas bonus.

On the night of Friday 30th January one of my fillings fell out, taking a large chunk of tooth with it. It was very painful so I had to go to the emergency dentist the next day at Kingston Hospital.

All they could do was put some temporary filling goop in there and advise me to see my dentist as soon as possible.

Well, the problem is that I haven’t seen a dentist in about 15 years. I would not advise anyone to avoid the dentist for 15 years. At first I stopped going because I’d moved away from home and no longer had a mother making the appointments for me! Then after the first 5 years or so it was the worry about what might be found and the work that would be required.

Since I didn’t have a dentist, it took me until the following Thursday to get an appointment and that was just an assessment. Really I have been quite lucky to have gone this long without serious issues. I now need a root canal and crown on that tooth where the filling came out, and also a couple of small fillings elsewhere. That’s going to happen tomorrow.

Fun.

Unfortunately it also meant I’ve been on antibiotics and painkillers all through FOSDEM this last weekend. Still it was great as usual!