Novacaine bites

I had the misfortune to be diagnosed with a cavity at my last dental cleaning last month and today was the day I had it taken care of. I can't say I was excited about it, more nervous and a little in denial. It's not like I've never had novacaine or had not fun dental procedures. On the contrary. I've had braces two separate times, have had 7 teeth pulled, and a few smaller cavities that didn't require novacaine to be worked on. Oh, and I had my wisdom teeth out two years ago.

This was the first time I've had novacaine since I gave birth and I was more then a little nervous that it wouldn't work. Right after I gave birth to Grace my midwife attempted to numb me "down there" to put a few stitches in and the anasthetic she was using wasn't working. After the second or third try (ouch!) she asked me if novacaine worked for me at the dentist office. That question has haunted me for over three years and now I can answer that YES novacaine still works for me at the dentist office. Thank God.

I didn't mind the shot but the drilling was kind of unsettling. Seeing bits of toothdust flying is really pretty gross. The smell wasn't so fantastic either. I went in prepared that the cavity might involve two teeth and was happy to discover that it was only one. That saved me time in the dentist chair and my pocketbook. The whole thing took 30 minutes which was better then the hour they told me it would take. I was even able to make it home before David's 10am work meeting started so he didn't have to try to watch the kids and participate in a work meeting on the phone.

So while I won't be chomping at the bit to go back to the dentist anytime soon it really wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. The novacaine is as bad as I remembered, the feeling that half your face is a rock is no picnic, but no part of the procedure was painful or even uncomfortable. I'm just hoping my face will be back to normal before too long!