Root Canal

Had a little time to kill today so decided to get a root canal. All my life people have cringed and said "root canal" in fearful hushed tones. This is the second one I've had and I have to say they are over rated. The only pain was a brief jab of the needle as the dentist numbed my mouth.

I thought the metaphor of a miner going for a vein of gold worked well. The miner started by reinforcing the cave entrance with a block of rubber, used water drills to cut the shaft and, in my case drilled a side shaft to reach the vein since I already had a crown on the tooth which he didn't want to remove. I have to admit the noise of the drill and the suction drowned out the podcast I was listening, that was a little disturbing.

The dentist was low key, quietly directing his assistant saying things like "20, 25." I have no idea what he was talking about, maybe basketball scores. He was good. He used a laser dill in part of the operation and, unique for me, a micro-processor chip. He put the small microprocessor on my left lip (the problem tooth was in the upper right of my mouth). Using the chip he was able to probe into the tooth and determine when he encountered a nerve by a tone being emitted. In electrical parlance, a continuity check. Cool.

My thoughts went back to the old dental equipment we found in the upstairs over the town library. I'm not sure how old I was, maybe 10 or 11. Today those tools would be in a museum. What came to mind was the foot powered drill. I first thought of the slow speeds generated and poor anesthetic...ouch. Then it occurred to me that it was probably best to visit the dentist early in the day before his leg got tired.

Dentistry sure has advanced and I admire the technology if not always the dentist.

For those in the know, dental work is subtle tattoos for the sophisticated. Nothing overt, no loud garish statements, just quiet, understated sexuality. Man am I hot!