Endodontics ... and the Mamas and Papas

My new word for the day is Endodontics (from the Greek endo - "inside" - and odons - "tooth"), a branch of dentistry dealing with tooth pulp and the tissues surrounding the root of a tooth.

I am more familiar with the descriptive, but certainly less technical, term "root canal." Endodontics is not a word I care to learn, but a visit to the dentist today led both to an education and to an appointment Monday morning for an endodontic procedure.

In December I experienced pain in one of my teeth on the upper right side (tooth number 4, in dental jargon). Dr. Shay discovered that the tooth was cracked and recommended a crown. He told me that in about 80% of cases like mine the crown would be a sufficient repair with no further problems. In the remaining cases, additional treatment might be required.

For several weeks my crown has worked as advertised. However, a few weeks ago I noticed pain when chewing on the right side. No problem, I thought, I'll just chew on the left side and wait for the pain to subside. This strategy worked for a time, but earlier this week I started experiencing sporadic pain that didn't involve chewing. Once the pain started waking me up (and keeping me up) at night, I knew I would have to go back to see Dr. Shay.

An x-ray showed no problem with the tooth. However, a more sophisticated diagnostic tool and test (tapping firmly on my tooth with a hard metal instrument!) revealed that I was experiencing pain (!!!) in the tooth and would need to undergo a root canal. I thought Dr. Shay would perform this procedure, but learned from him that once a crown is in place the root canal is performed by an endodontist - a dental practitioner who specializes in (and does primarily only ) root canals.

This image shows an abscessed tooth, the root canal treatment (drilling, filing, and filling), and the crown.
In light of my appointment first thing next week, I'll end this post with selected lyrics from the song "Monday, Monday" by the Mamas and Papas:

Monday, Monday, can't trust that day
Monday, Monday, sometimes it just turns out that way
Oh Monday mornin' you gave me no warnin' of what was to be ...

Every other day, every other day
Every other day of the week is fine, yeah
But whenever Monday comes, but whenever Monday comes
you can find me cryin' all of the time