Dental work mirror's Bell's Palsy - what's next?

Eric - left side of face droopy because of freezing.

The beginning of December was not an awesome time for me.  I had tooth trouble and had to go for some scans.  The pain subsided after a couple of days, but the prognosis was clear.  One of my molars was in desperate need of care.  

Two days ago the scourge reappeared and left me taking Tylenol like it was candy and eating soft foods suitable for an infant.  I was fortunate enough to get an appointment with the dental specialist (an endodontist) today, the last day before everything shuts down for Christmas.  The culprit, an upper molar on the left side, had a crack in it and needed to have a root canal and the old mercury amalgam filling replaced with a cap.  Although I was not looking forward to the procedure, it would mean that the pain and my recent Tylenol addiction would subside.  

If I thought tooth pain was bad, I have to say that the needles they stuck into me were an entire order of magnitude above that.  I noticed the young lady assisting held me tightly by the shoulder - I guess she knew what was coming.  I wonder how many patients launched from the chair without her firm grip assisting the process.  After waiting for ten minutes I noticed that I could no longer feel the side of my face, and the tooth pain had disappeared.  I later discovered that the lack of pain wasn't the only symptom of the injections; it seemed the left side of my face drooped significantly.  When  I smiled, I looked like Elvis.

As the dentist proceeded to work on my tooth, the entire plan of attack went out the window.  No root canal, no cap.  The tooth was cracked well beyond any long-term mediation and we were now looking at a bridge or a post implant.  I figure the implant is a better plan as it is the only way I will ever get a piercing.  No sir, no belly button, tongue, lip, or ear holes for me.  I can secretly be cool without resorting to any outward adornments.  And my post will have a tooth firmly affixed to it.  Does that count as bling?

And so now I have a temporary filling in my upper molar.  It will have to be replaced eventually with either a bridge or an implant.  I have to research both, but at the moment I am hedging my bets towards an implant.  It is the closest I will ever come to getting pierced.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com

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