I Prefer Labor

If someone were to ask me which I'd rather endure, labor or a toothache, I'd respond with "I prefer labor." For the last four days, I've had the second worst toothache of my life. The first was in a tooth that was in the process of having a root canal done and was closed temporarily before it was finished. That was one day of pure hell, and I was only 13 at the time. That experience left me with the desire to never again see a dentist...until about five years later. But that's a whole other story, and I'm sure you'd rather not be bored by my dental history.

This toothache, though, is a whole different ball of wax. The pain starts in the affected molar, radiates toward the back of my mouth, and down into my lower jaw. Pure hell. For four days. Yes, unmedicated back labor for 12 hours is a piece of cake compared to this! The lovely reward at the end of labor is a baby.

That said, I have never been so excited to go to the dentist as I am now. It will mean a resolution to my pain. I went yesterday for a cleaning and to look into the cause of my pain. It turns out that I need another crown, which I knew about anyway. The tooth has a fracture and the filling in it is loose, letting in bacteria and whatever else, which is causing the pain. The good news? No abcess, no infection, no need for a root canal.

So, in about two hours' time, I hope to feel like a new woman!