The Work for this Temporary Crown was worse Than the Root Canal I had Done 2 Months Ago

I will say, I kind of put off this dental work for a while. Things kept coming up and I kept moving the appointment back. I was more than happy to continue to move the appointment back, even though I had a good experience with this dentist the last time. I still don’t like going to the dentist.

This dentist has always been good about getting me in the office right away. I didn’t have to wait more than five minutes in the waiting room.

They pulled me back and right away shot me up with novicane. The first shot didn’t get me numb enough, so the doc had to come back and stick me again. At least the second shot didn’t hurt because I was numb from the first shot. When I left, the entire left side of my face was numb, from my cheekbone all the way back to my ear. I even felt a bit of numbness in my forehead.

They wrapped that rubber shield around my tooth and went in to fix the tooth next to the one I was having the crown made for with a filling. As the numbness got stronger and the longer I had my eyes closed, the further I fell into sleep-land. In fact, when I woke, they said I had been out for 30 minutes while they were doing the filling.

They worked on me for nearly two hours. They drilled away most of my tooth leaving a little nub for the crown to hold onto. The hardest part was when the slid these thick strings under my gums so the crown would have a place to sit.

The temporary crown is made out of a hard plastic. They said that I had to stay away from hard and sticky foods. The temporary tooth can easily be broken or dislodged from its spot.

I have one more appointment to set the permanent crown. It’s going to be made out of porcelain and is supposed to last the rest of my life as long as I take care of it.

This is a very good reason to brush and floss everyday.

10:30am – I am sitting here in the waiting room at the dentist’s office. This tooth has needed to be fixed for nearly three years. I guess if they had fixed it a couple of years ago, I would not need a root canal today.

This is my first experience with a root canal. I have heard so many horror stories about people going in to have this procedure and being in pain for days or even weeks.

The dentist assistant said since I am having it taken care of right now instead of waiting ’til it started to hurt, the root canal should not be that bad.

12:30pm – This, I believe, has been the best experience I have ever had at the dentist (when they have had to do more than just a filling).

They put a rubber shield around the tooth they were working on so I wouldn’t get tooth particles mixed in with the saliva building up in my mouth. They gave me a guard that held my mouth open so my jaw would not get tired. The nurse was also generous enough to clean out my mouth every so often so I didn’t choke.

The dentist did a really good job at making sure I was numb. After he got into the tooth and I started to feel the nerve, he stopped and shot novicane directly into the nerve to make it numb. That was the only time that the root canal hurt was when he stuck me that second time. The first shot was numb from the numbing gel, so I barely felt that one.

7:30pm – The numb lip was gone by about 1:30 this afternoon. I was able to eat a late lunch. The tooth and jaw didn’t really get sore ’til I got to work later this evening. Even that soreness was pretty light. I think this whole experience was ten times better than the last time I went to the dentist to get a filling.

Recently I have come to the conclusion that I should always be doing something constructive during my free time. What do I mean? I look around and see all the distractions that keep me from doing anything worth wile. Some of these time wasters are:

1. Television
2. The Internet (FaceBook and MySpace are really good time wasters if you let them be)
3. Video games

I guess my definition for a “Complete Time Waster” would be something you do where you don’t do any of the following:

1. You don’t get any exercise
2. You don’t expand your mind
3. You don’t make a connection with someone
4. You don’t make any money

There have been a number of people I have worked with and went to school with who were excited about going home after work or class so they can spend hours on a video game trying to figure out how to beat that game. My biggest problem with that is when you are done playing this game for several hours, what do you have to show for it? You have sore thumbs and bloodshot eyes.

I had a Playstation 2 for a while; several years I believe. I played it a good bit at first, but as I got deeper into my career and thinking more about this website, I didn’t find myself spending very much time playing games on the Playstation. Finally, I sold the console and all the games on eBay after I had not played it more than twice over the course of a year. If I wasn’t going to play it, then there was no point in keeping it.

Television is a necessary evil. It wastes your time when you could be doing something else. It is kind of our lifeline to the outside world these days. It lets us know what is going on around us so we can make the all important decisions about what we should wear out in today’s weather or helps us learn about all the information we need when it is time to vote for the leaders in our nation.

For some of us, the television is no longer this information guru. The internet has kind of taken its place. So that leaves the television as something we watch when we are bored, or when we want to procrastinate.

That is not to say that the television can’t be a good thing. You can learn a lot of things by watching television. There are the news and the weather channels. There are also the Discovery Network channels like TLC and the Science channel. I even like the NASA channel.

Let me ask you though, do you really benefit from the information you learn on these programs? You see… I love to watch the Food Network. It’s fun. I feel like I am learning something about cooking. I have been asked by loved ones, though, “Why do you watch the Food Network if you never get into the kitchen and cook the stuff your learning about?” They’re right. I may watch the Food Network, but how many times have I gone into the kitchen and tried one of the recipes they show me how to cook. In other words this show is not doing me any good unless I get in the kitchen and cook.

I know there are those of you who do actually try what you see on the TV. That is great. That means you are actually getting something out of what you are watching. Keep it up.

Another way that Television is productive is if you are watching it with other people. Make it a relationship growing experience. If you are watching it by yourself, you really are not benefiting anyone. You might have the small chance to have a conversation with someone at a later time about that program, but does that really further your relationship with that person or does it just give you small talk? Watch a movie with a loved one. If it is a romantic relationship, take the time to snuggle and get close. If it’s a buddy, watch the game and get excited about what is going on. If it’s a bunch of you girls, watch something creative and discuss how you are going to make it a reality in your own home. If you make it productive, then Television is not all that bad.

What about the internet? We use the internet for all our information needs today. We get a lot of our news and weather from the internet. That is great. If you are using the internet to either shop, or to sell something, then you are doing something productive with the internet. You may even use the internet to research something you are building or trying to learn about. That is what it was meant to be used for. It is when we get online just to be online. That is when we get ourselves in trouble. We waste a lot of time playing games and checking spam emails and surfing sites that have no relevance in our lives. If we would just be productive online, we would have so much more time to do other things.

Take the time right now to evaluate how you use your time. Are you productive in everything you do? If you are not, take the time right now to reset your way of thinking so when you catch yourself doing those things that don’t benefit you in any way. Then make a list of the things that you would like to get done. Plan on using your free time to get those things done.

Here is a small list of some of the things I think will help you be productive:

1. Read – Reading has been proven to expand the mind.
2. Grow – Start a vegetable garden. Flowers are pretty, but I find vegetables and fruits have something to strive for.
3. Build – Make something. Do something with your hands. Create something you can sell on eBay or on your website. This will be beneficial to your pocketbook.
4. Change – Make a difference in your community. Change something you think is a hindrance for everyone. Make life better for all.
5. Support – Be a mentor to someone else. Help those less fortunate that you.
6. Dream – Think about all the things you want in life. Make a plan to accomplish those dreams and make them come true. Only you can make them reality.