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Went to the dentist yesterday to get my right back tooth filled again (it already had two old fillings). She drilled, and drilled, and drilled, and then her eyes opened very wide. I'd seen that look on other dentists' faces, and it knew it did not mean good news.

It seems my tooth had decayed all the way to the root, which is now exposed. I had two options: root canal, or extraction. With Sjogren's, my extremely dry mouth would make implants or dentures difficult, so I chose root canal in order to save the tooth.

So the dentist put a temporary crown on, warning me that the tooth would be even more sensitive than it was before until the root canal is done. I called an endodontist, and was lucky enough to get appointment for a consultation tomorrow as someone else had cancelled. The endodontist will figure out what all needs to be done, and then I'll make an appointment for the actual root canal, and THEN I'll go back to the dentist to have a permanent crown done.

Sigh. This is the third time in three years that I've had this happen. I'm hoping like crazy I won't need any further work this year other than that tooth, because this is gonna max out my dental benefits for 2007.

I had Dan buy me some gluten free soup, yogurt, and more cream of rice and eggs so I'll have something soft to eat when needed. My jaw is already plenty sore from yesterday's procedure. Yikes.

Guess I'll just have to grin and bear it.