I went to the dentist once more yesterday, to have the remaining two fillings done. The process was much faster this time – less work to be done, and we all knew the process now. It worked much the same as last time, excepting, notably, that this time I’m not sure how well the anaesthetic actually worked. The dentist waited a little while, as last time, for it to take effect, but it didn’t… he seemed a little surprised that it was taking so long, but mentioned a rather fluffy sounding tale that the right side of the mouth takes longer than the left. Hmmm.
Anyway, he went ahead anyway, and I didn’t complain – I thought I felt the tingling starting, which is the earliest hint of effect. In hindsight, I’m not sure I did… although it wasn’t painful, there were a few moments were it was right on the verge, and I didn’t feel very numb at all.
And my cheek, tongue and lip didn’t go numb to any perceptible degree, in stark contrast to last time where it felt like they’d swollen up to the size of the rest of my face (they hadn’t, of course, but you know the feeling).
So, it all makes me wonder if it actually had any effect at all. I remember last time I had a local anaesthetic, when I had my toes operated on, it only partly worked – in my mind, at least; although it wasn’t painful as such, I could still feel every minute detail of the surgery, which was very very unpleasant.
So, I guess I rather fancy that I developed something of a resistance, if not an outright immunity, to the particular anaesthetic used. I do know from a long history of experimentation that I very rapidly develop a resistance to basic supermarket painkillers – Panadol and the like just don’t do anything for me at all, 99% of the time, and even though it does work, typically, I know if I use Nurofen too often it’s effect fades rapidly.
“Too often” is on the order of more than once a month, which doesn’t seem like frequent usage to me.
But anyway, apart from a slightly sore jaw – which I’m more or less certain is simply from having my mouth prised open wide for such an extended period – I’m once again fine. The fillings seem to be all in there good and solid, with no sensitivity or pain, so I’m pretty happy. The whole lot ended up costing about US$250, which is certainly a bloody good hourly rate for the dentist, but only 20% or so of the full fee. Hooray for insurance! :D
Next I’m thinking of having my vermiform appendix1 out, pre-emptively, while I have the insurance for it. ;)
And yes, I checked the spelling of appendix. So sue me; I’m a child of the digital age; I don’t need to remember stuff; the computer’s do it for me. :P
- Yes, apparently that’s it’s “also known as” name, so says Tiger’s dictionary. ↩︎
