Root canal no big deal

I went to a new-to-me dentist Thursday morning who, after getting the OK from my medical doctor for dental work without first getting antibiotics, quickly, professionally and painlessly did a root canal in a lower molar.

What I had feared would leave me moaning in misery for hours, left me only with a slightly sore jaw from having my mouth open long enough to have the dental work performed.

Granted, the dentist numbed nearly the entire right side of my face to the point I didn't know I had a check, lips or tongue ... but I also didn't feel the pain that I'm sure she would have caused if the area hadn't been numbed.

By 3:30 Thursday afternoon, the numbness was gone as was the pain in the tooth that previous had me to the point of wanting to buy pain killers and OraGel by the case.

I have to go back in three weeks to have the root canal finished and the crown attached, but if that's as easy as the Thursday visit, I'm home free and the newsroom gang can forget about me being "grumpy old Jim" from the tooth pain. I'll just be the normal "grumpy old Jim."