No infection!? Have you seen my cheek???

I took a big bite of cereal, carefully making sure to only chew on my left side.  A couple of grape nuts escaped to the other side of my mouth, sending a sharp zing through my newly crowned molar when I bit down.

Should it still be hurting this much?  I thought as I popped another 5 Advil (barely numbing the pain).

The pain didn't get better.  I felt like a nursing mother again, the pain startling me awake each night.  I rolled over to the medicine waiting on my nightstand.  More Advil, more water and once the ibuprofen kicked in, more sleep.

I knew it was time to see the dentist again when the Advil was no longer helping and I woke for my middle of the night tooth "nursing" to find the right side of cheek swollen. 

"There's no infection.  I don't see anything that says that you need a root canal."  My dentist stared at the x-ray and back at my swollen cheek.  I stared at the x-ray too, trying to will the x-ray to give my dentist some answer to make the pain go away.

She sent me off with a referral to an endodontist (root canal doc) in one hand, and a prescription of viacadin in the other.

The Endodontist said the tooth had undergone too much trauma from getting a crown put on and it caused the tooth to start dying.  There was infection, just not visible because it was leaking out the bottom of the tooth and into my gums and face (lovely.. I know).  He gave me antibiotics and set me up for a root canal 5 days later.

I have never been in such extreme pain in my life (and I have a very high tolerance for pain).  No child bearing experience of mine could ever top those 5 days, not even my c-section recovery.  It got to the point that I called back the day I came home and tried to reschedule the root canal for sooner, even that day, but the doctor had already left and wouldn't be back until Monday.

It was a long weekend, but by the time the morning of the root canal rolled around, the swelling had gone down, and the pain was back to being bearable.

The procedure was easy and painless.  So glad it's over with.  I still wish I had Mike's genes when it comes to teeth.  Not fair that he can skip out on getting cavities and I can't, even with my "by the book" hygiene.  Not cool, Mike. :)