a tiny hole almost killed me

***if you don't like dentists, blood, or oral orifices, you may not like this post. some photos are graphic in nature.***

i just got home from round 2 at the oral surgeon. last night i had a dream that when he was doing the work on my tooth, he did something to an optic nerve and i went blind. i am glad to report that that wasn't the case. here i am...not quite as swollen as i was 3 days ago:



but let's back up a bit. here i am, about 3 hours ago, waiting for dr. brain to come fix me:



and here is the tray of tools he will use to fix me:



in case you missed it, here is the huge needle he will use to fill my face with novocaine. so many shots, but at least he was able to get me numb:



we discussed a lot of different options. a 2nd root canal was still an option, but my gut told me to take a different route. i knew something was wrong. i just wanted that tooth gone...for good. and once the tooth was yanked out of my mouth, dr. brain could easily see what the problem was.

they say that what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. well, if that's true, i just got strengthened by a hole. a tiny hole. a hole that was no bigger than the ball out of a ball point pen. see, the x-rays couldn't see it, because it was on the very tippy top of the root of my tooth, but luckily, i had a feeling that i didn't ignore.

here is the nasty, nasty, little devil. i am so glad it is out of here. dr. brain said that the antibiotics didn't stand a chance against this guy. there was a direct route to my whole being right through the center of that front root. well, so long sucka!



and now, i look like a hillbilly. if i don't smile too big, it might not be noticeable, and once the extraction site heals, i can get a bridge or something. as of right now, i'm sitting here typing, with a giant wad of gauze in my mouth. there is still a lot of work that needs to be done, but at least now the infection can leave my face. yee haw!



for the record...i do take care of my teeth, they just hate me.