swalker
Very helpful member
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2014
- Messages
- 1,576
- Reason
- DX MND
- Diagnosis
- 07/2014
- Country
- US
- State
- CO
- City
- Vail
We just returned from our four-week long spring trip to Yellowstone. We stayed in the Madison campground (in our trailer) for 29 nights. It was a wonderful trip and I will write a trip report for it soon.
One adventure we did not expect was the need for me to have an emergency root canal. I thought I would share my experience in the hopes that it might be helpful to others.
I noticed an odd feeling in a tooth on the Sunday of Memorial weekend. By Monday it was quite painful. I figured that since I am a manly man, I would just endure the discomfort for a couple of weeks and have my normal dentist investigate when we returned.
My wife was of the opinion that I should see a dentist immediately.
By day four I admitted that I was really not a manly man at all, but was simply a whimpering boy instead. I reluctantly followed my wife's advice and started looking for a dentist. I hate going to the dentist!
We drove the 14 miles to West Yellowstone where we had cell phone coverage. I called all 4 dentists that were within a 2 hour drive and made an appointment with the only one that could see me that day. As a bonus, that dentist's office was wheelchair friendly and accepted my dental insurance.
The dentist found that I had a cracked tooth with an abscess and needed a root canal ASAP. It took 3 trips to the dentist to get all the work finished.
The dentist and his staff were beyond wonderful. They were very respectful of my breathing and aspiration issues. They suctioned a lot and I was never at risk of aspiration (though it sure felt that way at times). They gave me many breaks and were careful to position me so that I could breathe. It was a bit unnerving, but worked out very, very well.
I got really lucky that a great dentist was available on short notice. I also learned a few lessons.
1. I should listen to my wife a bit more (but don't tell her I said that).
2. Tooth pain is a bit like respiratory issues. Get it looked at right away. By delaying I wound up with a much worse infection that went to my sinus. I am lucky it was not worse.
3. A good dentist can accommodate respiratory and aspiration issues (at least at the level I have them).
After the initial 2.5 hour session I thanked the dentist and his assistant for being able to see me and doing the root canal. They told me that few of their patients were happy to have a root canal done. But, I sure was. The relief was nearly immediate.
Steve
One adventure we did not expect was the need for me to have an emergency root canal. I thought I would share my experience in the hopes that it might be helpful to others.
I noticed an odd feeling in a tooth on the Sunday of Memorial weekend. By Monday it was quite painful. I figured that since I am a manly man, I would just endure the discomfort for a couple of weeks and have my normal dentist investigate when we returned.
My wife was of the opinion that I should see a dentist immediately.
By day four I admitted that I was really not a manly man at all, but was simply a whimpering boy instead. I reluctantly followed my wife's advice and started looking for a dentist. I hate going to the dentist!
We drove the 14 miles to West Yellowstone where we had cell phone coverage. I called all 4 dentists that were within a 2 hour drive and made an appointment with the only one that could see me that day. As a bonus, that dentist's office was wheelchair friendly and accepted my dental insurance.
The dentist found that I had a cracked tooth with an abscess and needed a root canal ASAP. It took 3 trips to the dentist to get all the work finished.
The dentist and his staff were beyond wonderful. They were very respectful of my breathing and aspiration issues. They suctioned a lot and I was never at risk of aspiration (though it sure felt that way at times). They gave me many breaks and were careful to position me so that I could breathe. It was a bit unnerving, but worked out very, very well.
I got really lucky that a great dentist was available on short notice. I also learned a few lessons.
1. I should listen to my wife a bit more (but don't tell her I said that).
2. Tooth pain is a bit like respiratory issues. Get it looked at right away. By delaying I wound up with a much worse infection that went to my sinus. I am lucky it was not worse.
3. A good dentist can accommodate respiratory and aspiration issues (at least at the level I have them).
After the initial 2.5 hour session I thanked the dentist and his assistant for being able to see me and doing the root canal. They told me that few of their patients were happy to have a root canal done. But, I sure was. The relief was nearly immediate.
Steve