Root Canals

We often hear people say such and such was about as much fun as a root canal.  A trip to the dentist's office is not one of my favourite past times.  Come to think of it, I don't know too many people who enjoy a visit with the dentist, unless of course that dentist happens to be a family member or a very dear friend, then of course it's social, not work related.  No offence to any dentist who might stumble onto this blog, but I can think of all sorts of things I'd rather do that visit one.  Unfortunately, I had no choice today.  I have a tooth that has become exceptionally painful.  A toothache isn't fun.  A toothache with infection even less so.  And so, to the dentist I went.  They (there are two of them and they work as a team) poked and prodded (not a wise move when I'm already in pain, and it took both of them to peel me off the ceiling) and decided to take an x-ray of the tooth to see what was really going on (could have done that without the poking and prodding, but there it is).  Here they do things differently.  The dentists 'office' was part of the family apartment, there was one dental chair, an x-ray machine and all the dental torture tools.  Unlike home, taking the x-ray was totally different.  I held the "film" in place with my thumb (not sure how they could tell the difference between my thumb and the tooth, but I guess they can).  Then we chatted about the whole issue.
There are two possiblilities.  One: the tooth has a small fracture in it which will mean it will have to have a crown, or two: the roots are badly infected by a filling that has broken down and "bled" into the roots thus causing infection - thus the root canal this started out with.  The dentist said that people have problems with root canals because the canals aren't planned out.  Is this like planning a wedding?  Or maybe an assault on a canal filled with alligators?  What about a dinner party, does that count?  No matter.  I'm on a fist full of antibiotics and painkillers until Monday night when I'll have this delightful procedure (whichever way it goes).  In the meantime, I'll "enjoy" the thought of having a root canal and wondering what might be as much "fun" as it is.  Until next time (hopefully not).