The day I was to find out about my CT Scan results, I had an appointment with my hygienist to have my teeth cleaned. For those of you who don’t know me well, I have an issue with dentistry in that Novocain does little to nothing for me for major dental work. So when the hygienist was cleaning I told her about my CT Scan and I think she was shocked that the cancer might have returned after all this time. So shocked that she didn’t mention that one of my bicuspids was cracked, but she made a note of it for my dentist. I love my dentist and he has been a family friend for many years. I just don’t love the profession he is in due to the sensitivity of my mouth.
So when Dr. Gorgeous II, the dentist, arrived to take a look he informed me that I needed a crown for the cracked tooth. I told him it was likely the cancer had returned and I would need chemo after my surgery which I was anticipating and would confirm later that day when meeting with my surgeon. He was bummed about the cancer and even more bummed that we needed to get this crown work done in short order. We had a three week timeframe to get it done and I would need a dental anesthesiologist for the procedure. By the end of our conversation we decided the best course of action was to get a root canal under anesthesia followed the next day by a temporary crown which he would do.
Dr. Gorgeous II was wonderful. He arranged everything and had the Endodontic doctor lined up with one of only two dental anesthesiologists in the state of CT all set for Feb. 25th with the temporary crown work to be done on Feb. 26th. (My cancer surgery ended up being Feb. 18th so you can say I was under anesthesia or painkillers for a good part of two weeks). I was actually more concerned about the root canal than having surgery for the cancer and the reason is because they use my port for anesthesia for the cancer surgery and need to use a vein in my hand or arm for dental surgery. I’ve had too many pokes in the arm to count. My veins collapse so they prescribe Lorazepam for me to take just before I go to the dental procedure.
So the morning of the 25th I took the maximum dose allowed of Lorazepam which made me a little tired on the ride to the Endo’s office. By the time I got there I needed Jeff’s arm to steady myself across the parking lot. Once in the chair, I asked for laughing gas or Nitrous Oxide to relax me that much more in order to access a vein. The anesthesiologist obliged and put a pink pig shaped mask over my nose (must be for children) and told me to breathe in regular breaths. I’ve been down this path before and once I saw the needle come out of his bag and he asked me to squeeze my hand open and shut I started to (purposely) hyperventilate as much laughing gas as possible to get through this part.
He knew my story about cancer from my dentist and knew I had written a book about it. He told me that he had a close relative pass recently from cancer and shared with me how difficult it was for him. I was trying to be really empathetic and serious when telling him how sorry I was for his loss but the combination of drugs including the Nitrous Oxide made everything come out of my mouth with a massive slur as if I was drunk. I remember every word I tried to say and if I was him, I would have injected my veins with the anesthesia as quickly as possible to shut me up. I’m’ pretty sure that’s what he did.
The next day my tooth was really sore. I couldn’t even touch it with my finger. When I got to my dentist’s office I told him that it really hurt, not nerve pain, but sore to the touch. He explained that crown work is usually done a week after a root canal so the inflammation could settle. We had to do it that day though so it would be sensitive. I told him I wanted some Novocain which he provided that would help with the soreness. I also was prepared with my iPod of various tunes that I would crank in my ear buds while he worked because just the sound of the drill made me uncomfortable and anxious.
He asked me what I would listen to while he drilled down the tooth. I said, “I was thinking a little Pearl Jam.” He said, “that might be a bit heavy for this.” I said, “I also have Michael Buble loaded.” He thought that was a little too low key. So we settled on 8 to the Bar’s “Play it on your Saxophone”. I listened to 3 songs before we were applying the mold to make the temporary crown. I had the volume cranked up pretty loud and when Dr. Gorgeous II left the room for 2-3 minutes with the mold in my mouth, I just assumed when he returned and put his hand on the mold sticking out of my mouth that he wanted me to open. I did and he said, “you’re just like a little kid, I said not to open.” I looked at him, turned down the music and mumbled with the mold still in my mouth, “I was reading your lips!” To that he replied, “I have my mask on.”
