THank you all so much for writing...it's been a roller-coaster of a day...I called the dentist back and said that it was worse than ever, not subsiding, just growing -- he folded and referred me to an endodontist, but I couldn't call them until after 5, so I won't know if I can be seen until tomorrow morning. By around 5:30 as I was driving DD to orchestra, it finally HIT so bad I was ready to go to an ER. I was sweating, panting from the pain, and felt faint...oh my gosh it was bad and just getting worse...luckily DH met me at the orchestra place and he drove me at first to a dental ER, but I REFUSED to let them see me because it seemed so shady (weirdly, I got definite vibes not to let them near me, and the weirdness was confirmed by the completely inappropriate behavior of the people behind the desk and the questions on the registration sheet -- how many medical offices make you write the name of your "Financial Institution" and warn you about the fee if you don't call within 24 hours of your next appointment before even handing you the *long* registration form??! but I digress)...by then I had given in and taken an extra half tramadol, just because I was going completely insane with the pain. I would categorize it as the second worst pain I've ever felt--first being childbirth. But I think the tramadol what did the trick because in about 45 minutes I was living again, doing errands with DH while we waited for DD. I can feel it's coming back again now, but I know now how to control it until tomorrow morning. jbrig, thank you for the clarification -- you're right, I was being too broad-brush and ended up just being wrong -- I think I was thinking of the prostaglandin-inhibiting and the anti-inflammatory effects of ibuprofen (or at least that's what I had been told). Thanks for correcting me. Funny that you should mention the tramadol/flexeril, because those are what I take -- the tramadol in the daytime for fibro and the flexeril at night (low dose, as a muscle relaxer as you mention). camlan, WOW...that's scary...how did they end up finding it? Do you have complete resolution now and you're pain-free? And Pat, I'm sorry to hear you've had that situation for years...I can only imagine what it must be like for that long. Could TN2 include the feeling that teeth are about to explode? INTENSE ache? I'll bring it up with the endodontist tomorrow. I can feel a tooth throbbing now, starting the wind-up. I really appreciate your all's understanding, help and good wishes so much. I'll post back about the endodontist. THANK YOU!

Hi luckyframe19/Mike, Sorry - too late to get to you prior to The Visit. Please relax. Tell yourself that it'll not be a Big Deal ... and when have you ever known yourself to lie?? Especially to yourself ... (oh, did you say that the one that we're most prone to lie to is ... ourselves?). That they even have a word for it ... self-deception? I had more than a dozen out a couple of years ago. On one occasion, 5 removed ... the dental school charged $32.00 for the first in a quadrant and $16.00 for each extra one within that quadrant, so the student said when she was making up the bill at the end. I said, "$96.00" - which no one seemed to pay much attention to at the time. When she had it all figured out and it came to that amount, she looked at me and said, "How did you figure that?". I said that One $32.00 is $32.00, and 4 at $16.00 each is equal to two more $32.00s ... that Three 30s is 90 and Three 2s is 6 ... 90 and 6 makes 96, right? (Watch out for these magicians/illusionists ... they get your attention, your mind, somewhere else ... then they pull their tricks). They stick that little Q-tip with the deadener in to rub around the gum where the shot's soon to go (aren't you glad that they don't rub it around your brain?) ... and soon it eases the gum so that you scarcely feel the needle. Then you feel some pushing and pulling while the guy/gal with her/his hands on the other end of the pliers wiggles back and forth (see if you can cast the eyes down far enough to see whether the hips wiggle at the same time - no, not yours, silly). Oh ... you say that yours do? Or ... wanted to? Sooner than you can figger ... the pliers come out of the mouth and move away ... with that widdow peece of white stuff clutched in their jaws! Imagine ... all of that fuss over such a small piece of ... stuff! I've had a dozen or two out a couple of years ago ... and I'm still here! You'll feel a great sense of relief en route home ... sucking on that major piece of gauze that they stuck in there to replace that precious tooth and on which they told you to clamp down (lightly). By the way - as someone said - no suckin' on nuthin' for a few days, till things get healing. I hope that your jaw doesn't hurt too much as the freezing comes out - I think that it'll be unusual if it does. Maybe a little ache at the hinges where they were pulled in a rather unusual fashion. My hinges pop out rather easily ... the first time that they do it with a new dentist, s/he just about jumps out of his/her skin! They gave me a prescription for some pain-killer, which I didn't fill. Thought that I'd wait and see what developed, as I seem to have few complications after such experiences. For which I'm thankful ... very thankful. I hope that you're feeling relaxed and happy after the experience - that you enjoy the same good fortune. Did you take a putty knife with you, so that they could scrape that part of your psyche off of the ceiling? As I drove down the street from son's place last fall, saw a small cupboard out in front of a dental office, waiting for the garbage truck. Went down a couple of blocks, doubled back, stuck it into the hatch. About 2' square, 3' high, with the top half sunk back to a little over half depth. Doors in bottom, had been a drawer above, in the narrowed part, with a pull-out shelf above that, just under the top, which was about 1/2 - 2/3 depth of the cupboard, set back. Casters on the bottom. Landlord uses it in his shop, rolls it around whereever he's working on his equipment, with wrenches, etc. on top ... aren't you glad that the dentist wasn't using half-inch wrenches (up to an inch, as a mattter of fact - farmers use fairly large equuipment) on you when you were in his/her clutches? Please, folks, take it from me - visits to the dentists are rarely ever even a tenth as bad as advertised. Relax. Trust that things will go well, that it won't be more stressful than ... ... driving downtown, maybe?? Oh - perhaps that was a poor simile? How about ... watching a rather boring movie? Good wishes, everyone, for a minimally stressful visit to the dentist. Can I ask a favour of you? If you're overdue for a visit - get your tail down there. Procrastination dealing with our teeth is not a great idea - often leads to major trouble ... instead of a problem that could have been fixed easily, earlier. And ... another request, if I may - take care of your teeth ... or you'll end up with an empty mouth, like me. Which makes it a bit difficult to talk correctly (with dentures leaves a bit to be desired - a whistle or so, here and there, plus some indistinct sounds at times). Teeth sure help when it comes to pronunciation ... and enunciation! Have yourselves a great weekend, everyone. ole joyful

Hi Linda ... maybe she could sell V!agra? Since it appears that I'm being accused of a breach of security ... or indulging in profanity ... and they don't specify in which direction ... ... it appears that I'll have to change my ways! Or ... my contribution here, at least: I have a profound dislike for brick walls built across the freeway in front of me (but hope that I see them, early on). o j

marcopolo, I think you are correct--I had a handful of fillings before I reached adulthood, but only one of my three children had a filling by that time. I wish the manufacturer of the candy had included the instructions to suck the sugar shell off before chewing. Or maybe it wouldn't have done any good--I spoke by phone with a friend today, who told me she almost broke a tooth when she bit into the candy I'd given her. I said, "But I left you a message about breaking my tooth." She said she didn't think about it when she put the candy in her mouth!