May 23rd, 2007 by The Bosphorus
The roots of Molar #14 have been canaled and packed with rubber.
I thought today’s work would finish the saga of Molar# 14, but I was wrong. I will have to go to my regular dentist so that he can put a permanent filling in the tooth.
You wouldn’t believe the different smells that are associated with a root canal. There’s the burnt smell of the drilled tooth. Then the smell of the exposed root (lovely). Surprisingly enough the rubber packing smells like cloves when its melted into place. (One of the dental hygienists could have been smoking a clove cigarette I suppose.)
I was most disappointed that no heroic measures, like the endodontist bracing his foot against my shoulder, were taken. Alas and alack.
May 23rd, 2007 at 9:09 pm
Ahh, root canals. Never been there myself, but lived through a few vicariously with BJ.
May 23rd, 2007 at 9:18 pm
Bos, the packing smells like cloves because there’s clove oil in it. I don’t remember the reason now (it’s been so long ago), but they also sometimes use a clove packing after extracting wisdom teeth (horrible memory, that one).
May 24th, 2007 at 6:13 am
they put cloves in it for an association-type effect … so every time you smell cloves from here on you will think “root canal” and you’ll run to give your teeth a good brushing.
May 24th, 2007 at 9:54 am
I think we’re all experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress, now…
May 24th, 2007 at 10:30 am
Cloves are great at easing tooth pain and also can help prevent infection. When I had my wisdom teeth out and got dry socket, they told me to put cloves in there till I could be seen.
May 24th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
I’ve only ever had one cavity. I thought I was going to die when they gave me the shot. Next time I want general anesthesia!!
I’m glad things went well for you.
May 25th, 2007 at 5:36 am
Like so many other things in life, the actuality rarely measures up to the anticipation…
May 25th, 2007 at 7:23 am
No kidding, WCGPop.