Pain is a Signal

After a few days of progressively worse pain in my mouth, I finally called the dentist's office on Thursday and got an emergency appointment for Friday noon. The usual OTC (over the counter) painkillers were not very effective, and my constant cleaning and rinsing with salt water hadn't cleared it.

A few months earlier after eating popcorn I must have had a hard kernel/whatever stuck someplace, and that technique worked within a couple of days. My good dental hygiene had kept me safe for many years. I thought that I had the same sort of problem.

I was wrong.

When I finally made it to the dentist he said that I needed a root canal under a recently placed "cap." He said that it does happen in a certain percentage of the cases. He even pulled out puss. If I had known that could have been the problem I would have called at the first ache and not a few days later. Now I know.

As soon as he finished, he went to the receptionist's desk, and as he wrote a prescription for antibiotics he called a nearby pharmacy to check when it was closing. I had just enough time to run there before starting my way home. He drew me a map and said his clinic will call me for follow up next week. I had to run. Friday in Israel is a rushing day. Stores including pharmacies close early, before Shabbat. With the help of G-d I made it just before closing and got my antibiotics. Then I caught a bus out of Har Nof, Jerusalem, and then another to the String Bridge stop and then a 143 to Sha'ar Binyamin and then a ride to the Shiloh Junction and then another ride straight to my door.

On the way home, I took the first of the antibiotics. And thank G-d I'm feeling progressively better. And now I know what type of pain needs a quick call to the dentist.