I've never been a fan of sitting in the dentist chair.
I've had a lot of dental trauma in the past. Or rather cavities and fillings and numbing and root canals and wisdom teeth pulled (I was awake for that one, folks!) and I suppose if you add up how much time I have spent in a dentist chair, it would be understandable that I consider it all dental trauma.
Today I went in to have some work done. But here's the thing: I already knew it was worse than the original diagnosis. Is has been over a year since my dentist told me to get this done and lest you think I just put it off and put it off, I actually had other dental work that had to be done this year that used up all of my annual allotment from insurance. One tooth cracked and another needed a crown, of course. I am a queen of sorts now my multiple crowns.
Because of this tooth, for the past year, I barely ate on the left side of my mouth because it would often ZING which is a terrible feeling that is worth avoiding by not chewing on the left side of my mouth. As the year was coming closer to an end, I would end up with an ache in my jaw just below the tooth so no food nor drink was allowed to cross the center line of my tongue.
And one day in December, I made a mistake: I made crepes and ate one piece on the left side of my mouth. I heard a crack, spit out my crepe and immediately called the dentist for an appointment as early in January as possible. Stupid soft crepes.
Which bring us to today. As my dentist numbed me up for the work that he originally diagnosed me for, he took a closer look at the most current X-rays and told me that I needed a root canal. I'll be honest, folks: this was a relief. I thought I was going to lose that tooth and when you're over 40, the tooth fairy does NOT put money under your pillow! (Such a bummer.)
What I did not realize is that my dentist was going to do it right then and there! I'll tell you what: that actually took away a lot of the "waiting" anxiety that comes with any kind of tooth appointment for me. And my tooth had been hurting for so long, I was ready to get this done!
So today, I sat in the chair for nearly 4 hours. It was a busy day in the office and I was grateful that they were able to complete the root canal for me. Guess what? By the end of January, I will be the proud owner of another crown! I'd tell you how many that makes, but I lost track.
I realized something about myself today. My mental strength has definitely grown. I'm not exactly sure that it's an actual muscle, but it does feel like the more I go through tough things, the stronger I am for the next one.
Throughout every dentist appointment, I find myself calling out to God at multiple points through the process:
"Please don't let the needle hurt too much!"
"Help me not to swallow every 10 seconds."
"Please make sure the numbing agent took so that I don't have to anticipate a ZING!"
"Can the X-ray be quicker so I don't gag on the thingy they put in my mouth?!"
"Please have them suction out all that spit and water soon!"
"Don't let me gag!!"
Psalm 138:3 is a good verse for all of my dentist appointments because God and I talk so much during that time. Well, I talk a lot and He probably rolls His eyes a bit, if God does that sort of thing.
"When I called, you answered me; you greatly emboldened me."
When I think of my next appointment (and I already know I have another crown coming) I know that God keep showing up and holding my hand and reminding me to breathe through my nose. And having him with me makes me a little bit braver each time.
But seriously, I cannot WAIT until I have perfect teeth in heaven!
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