Most people my age have already hit the point where they stop wanting to be older and start fishing for you to tell them how young they are/look/act. My friends love to be carded, because they feel young whenever it happens. I haven’t ever felt that way, though; I have such a young face and have always been in jobs, schools and places where everyone else is significantly older than me that I have always enjoyed the process of getting older. To me, age has always meant credibility and respect; the young have no credibility and get no respect, and looking young myself has always made me feel like I’ve got something to prove. YES, I know what I’m doing — YES, I deserve your respect.
Yesterday, though, I had what was probably my first real age-related shock. My dentist told me I have to get a root canal on my aching tooth, and my immediate reaction was: Only grownups have to get root canals.
I know that’s not true, but I’ve never personally known anyone under 40 who had to get a root canal. I’m sure younger people have to do it, I just don’t know any of them.
To be honest, when I left the dentist’s office yesterday, I was REALLY freaked out. I still am, truth be told. I had a dream last night that I just didn’t show up at my appointment. Oh, did I mention? It’s today, at 9:30 a.m. … they told me at 4:00 on a Monday that I had to get a root canal at 9:30 the next morning. I just really felt I needed more time to prepare for something like that.
I’m going to a specialist, an endodontist. The dentist told me an endodontist would be able to do the procedure faster than he could; but honestly, the only reason I’m being shipped across town is because we’ve only got three business days left in town before our (nearly) two-week trip to Hawaii, and my dentist doesn’t have any appointments available in those three days. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to spend my week in Hawaii drugged up because my freaking tooth hurts.
So… I get to do that today. Lovely.
On the bright side, tomorrow we leave for NIOSA in San Antonio. It’s not the best timing in the world, but a couple of Daniel’s aunts from Minnesota are coming down and we’re going to spend time with them as well. We might even go to Sea World! I haven’t been since I was a gawky pre-teen visiting Florida with my family.
Must. Think. Happy. Thoughts.
Hope you were out of pain and had a good trip. People under 40 get root canals too; frequently too, so don't feel too old or scared.
I'm a general dentist in Virginia and I send all my patients who need root canals to the endodontists, since it's the best thing for them. Research indicates general dentists have a 25% lower success rate than endodontists with root canal success, especially due to complications like broken instruments. So you really were in good hands. Best of luck. James Maloney, DDS