Another day, another dentist.

Couple months ago it was just a cleaning, few weeks after that some fillings and yesterday a root canal!! A root canal! WTF! Cue anxiety.

Everyone told me it won't be as bad as I think and for the most part they were right. The procedure itself was painless. The worst part was holding my mouth open for an hour an 15 minutes. After I left, I was invincible...pain-free! That lasted for all of 30 minutes and then the pain kicked into high gear! Mostly, just uber-sensitive and sore from all the poking and proding of my poor little upper molar. Today, things are looking up! I think I'll make it.

That said, here are just a few tips for surviving the next one or your first one (but, let's hope I won't need to refer to this post ever again).

1) iPod. Music is my savior. Thank you Adele for your healing words. And, thank you Sennheiser for earbud volume control and being able to crack it up at seconds notice when the dental tools got a little too loud.

2) Painkillers. In my case, Ibuprofen. 3 an hour before appointment. And, 3 there after.

3) PTO. Take the day off. Nobody, except my husband and animals needs to see me the day of a root canal. Plus, the three hour nap after I got home was the ticket to masking the post-canal soreness.

Let's hope that the final dental visits in the next couple weeks for the crown are the last for a loooong time. Or, the next time I need a crown it isn't because of a trip to the dentist. :)