Dear Regular Newsletter Readers,
Welcome again to this week’s edition of our newsletter and as always we have tried to assemble a selection of interesting news stories for you to mull through as and when you have the time. There is also my small contribution this week that might be worth a read; it’s another poem (of sorts) and this time it’s about a tooth issue I have: I had a root canal performed on my lower left third molar about a three weeks ago now and it’s still somewhat sensitive when any outside stimulus is applied to it. For example, when I brush it or touch it with my tongue it tingles, but when I masticate or chew my food I don’t feel any pain except for the same tingling sensation which seems a bit odd to me. If you have ever had an electric shock (I’ve had a few small ones) the tingling sensation in my tooth feels exactly like that. I’m hoping that this sensation subsides before I have my permanent crown fitted, but it seems highly unlikely that it won’t subside in time given that my dental appointment is early tomorrow morning. Never having had a root canal prior to quite recently, I’m not quite sure what the stages of healing are supposed to be. Based on my research, it seems that we are all different when it comes to how we react to having a root canal, some of us don’t really feel that much post procedure pain and within a couple of days the healing process has taken place, whereas others (including yours truly) will suffer with a lot of post procedure pain and the healing process can be very slow. Maybe the tingling in my tooth is associated with some inflammation of surrounding gum and nerve tissue caused by the treatment and perhaps the fitting of the temporary crown which is holding up the healing process or maybe the root canal hasn’t quite been cleaned out properly. Hopefully, it’s the former and not the latter as the thought of the endodontist removing the resin filling in my tooth and going back into the root canals to clean them out and then refill them is not something I really want to think about. I don’t want to think about it because the root canal I was forced to have is the result of having a crack in my tooth and by going back into the root canal my tooth will certainly be subjected to some further stress which could make the crack in the tooth worse which may see me with one less tooth in my mouth at the end of the day.
From gum to tongue to little finger nail
Chewing gum on the train.
Ouch! I feel excruciating pain.
It’s my lower left back molar troubling me again.
I continue to chew but the pain does not wane.
I feel like the day I’m looking at: dreary, cold and with a sky full of clouds filled with rain.
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Carrying the strain of the day square on my shoulders.
Ready to unload it at the feet of all those I have to meet.
The bag in my hand made heavy by sales papers enclosed in clear folders.
I reunite the gum in my mouth with my molar and I masticate.
The pain remains and I feel like the day that’s looking back at me, dreary, cold and with a sky full of clouds filled with rain.
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Out with the gum and still on the train.
Looking through windows yet to be splattered with rain.
My curious tongue gingerly decides to investigate.
I feel pain but not half as much as when I masticate.
This pain reaps no gains and I feel like the day I’m looking at, I feel dreary, cold and with a sky full of clouds filled with rain.
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Chewing gum and a curious tongue have confirmed the state of play.
My lower left back molar has probably succumbed to decay.
My curiosity moves me from my tongue to the nail on my little finger.
The tapping and pushing of the nail across the top of the tooth makes the pain linger.
It’s time to listen to what the dentist has to say, and unlike the day that’s looking back at me, my sky is no longer full of clouds filled with rain.
A poem by Stephen Austwick.