Listen, Mr. Tooth Decay...

Yesterday I found myself at the dentist for the second time this week, to have a filling replaced where decay had worked its way underneath. So they got to work numbing me (the shots are the worst part, of course). But after two shots I had not sufficiently numbed, so he gave me another shot in a slightly different spot. Still, that particular tooth wasn’t numb. So the dentist said “I’d better go get my gun,” at which point I promptly apologized for being a difficult patient.

The gun was just another tool to inject septocaine, a stronger anesthetic than the standard lidocaine, which finally did the trick. So, after 40 minutes in the chair, they were finally able to do the work.

When the anesthetic hadn’t worn off completely 5 hours later, I was a little worried about permanent numbness (the fact that the dental assistant’s mother suffered from it didn’t help). So I called the office (they are actually open until 7 p.m.), and they told me that sometimes this stronger anesthetic didn’t wear off for 12 hours.

A couple hours later it was finally all gone, and I was left with just that pleasant feeling that always follows dental work. And by “pleasant,” I mean of course “achy and annoying.”