Thursday, January 22, 2015

Route to a Root Canal



We have been preparing for this vagabond lifestyle for years.  Especially this last year we did all those medical tests and procedures that we knew would be easier with our local doctors.  We had those colonoscopies that we had both been putting off, and we told our local dentist to be sure our teeth were in top condition.  But as proof that it doesn’t matter how well you prepare, your body will still need some health care when you are living full-time on the road.  We just didn’t expect it quite so soon!  Denisa first noticed an ache in her jaw the second day we were away from Weatherford.   An occasional Tylenol kept that ache under control, and we were having so much fun that it could be willed to be ignored.  But every day was a little worse, until Wednesday morning when the pain ramped up and it was obvious that she would have to see a dentist.


This was when we could tell that God was taking care of us.  We were preparing to leave Abilene for the drive four hours south to a state park outside of San Antonio.  We called Mark’s brother in San Antonio, and miraculously their highly regarded dentist office was covered by our dental insurance plan.  More miraculously, they would hold a 4:50 appointment for me that day.  When Dr. Hoeppner concurred that a root canal would be needed, miraculously the endodontist he recommended was also in our dental plan.  Another miracle was that this unknown walk-in patient could get an appointment with a specialist for a root canal the very next morning!  Some people would call that a series of coincidences or just very good luck, but we see that as a miracle of God taking care of us.



Dr. Hoeppner suggested I take 4 ibuprofen every six hours to get me through the intense pain the night before the root canal.  I had never taken more than one ibuprofen at a time!  But it hurt so much that I followed the doctor’s orders and got some sleep that night.  The root canal went smoothly on Thursday, and afterwards Denisa felt so good she drug Mark down to the Guadalupe River that evening for a very cold walk.


The timing of the root canal was even perfect.  It was cold and rainy all day, so we would have been motorhome-bound.  So it was perfect weather for a visit to the endodontist for a root canal!

2 comments:

  1. Last month I had a tooth that needed to be extracted but I kept putting it off and putting it off for fear of the dentist. I wanted to pass on to your readers that because i waited, the tooth became abscessed and I made things worse. My eye blew up, and had I not gotten it taken care of, I could have damaged the eye permanently.

    Joanna @ Westheimer Dentist

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am glad that it was a positive experience for you. I have not always had the best experiences but finally I found a dentist that I absolutely adore. She just knows when to give breaks and do rinses and she is also very fast. But as a whole, I just do my best to avoid any major tooth issues.

    Leslie Robertson @ Masterpiece Smiles

    ReplyDelete